


An Evening I Will Not Forget

by amyowlett



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: F/F, Harry Potter - Freeform, Lesbian, M/M, Narcissa Black Malfoy - Freeform, f/f - Freeform, girlxgirl, hermione granger - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-03-24
Updated: 2019-07-09
Packaged: 2019-11-29 09:45:16
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 15
Words: 61,481
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18221462
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/amyowlett/pseuds/amyowlett
Summary: A loveless marriage. A Greek island. Two women, once on different sides of a Wizarding war. And secrets that threaten to tear the lives they had built for themselves apart forever.Hermione Granger and Narcissa Black are running for their lives as everything they had ever known became a lie, as the line between good and evil began to blur and they realised that the ones they loved and trusted the most in this world were not who they said they were.





	1. Chapter 1

There was a dark, damp mist in the air as I stood in Diagon Alley. Windows were broken, doors lay off their hinges. Bodies lay strewn in the streets as people milled about, sporadic flashes going off every few minutes as photographers took in the scene.

"This is official ministry business, Ma'am," came a gruff voice, "Oh, Mrs Grang- Weasley," the tall, well-built man I didn't recognise looked surprised, "My apologies." he turned away and I grimaced before stepping back. As I prepared to apparate, I spotted something. At the very end of Diagon Alley, so far away I could barely make them out, was someone I hadn't seen for a very long time. Cold, grey eyes reached mine and I shivered as Narcissa Malfoy looked away and walked up the steps to enter Gringotts bank.  
Turning on the spot, I apparated home. 

The Burrow was warm and cosy as I made my way inside. Glancing at the family clock, I saw that Ron was at work. My heart still raced as I shed my robes and settled in jeans and a t-shirt on the sofa, lighting up the fire with a wandless spell. It was my guilty pleasure, curling up by the fire in muggle clothes, reading muggle books. Ron never would have allowed it had he known, for despite how progressive his family was for Purebloods, he still had a fear of Muggles. He had only met my parents twice. The first time to ask for my hand in marriage. The second at our wedding.

This morning I had come across a newspaper article in the Daily Owler, a new newspaper that had thrived in the failings of the ruined Prophet. The front page had screamed about a fight in Diagon Alley, and had I felt the strong urge to see for myself. 

The War ended 15 years ago, yet it seemed to drag on, and on. The original Death Eaters were gone, most of them dead or rotting in Azkaban. But, in their place had sprung several copycats that fashioned their own Death Eater masks and hoods and created potions to make their own, fake dark marks. They were not organised, they had no leader and most didn't know of the others. They simply went about and attacked people whenever they could, and seemed to always get away with it.  
However, there was one key difference between the real Death Eaters and these copycats - they did not target Mudbloods and Muggles. No.

They targeted Purebloods.

They murdered and killed and raped and tortured under the guise of a movement, but were simply psychopathic, racist serial killers and the worst thing about it was the general public, who still suffered from the losses of the war, turned a blind eye. These copycats wanted Purebloods dead, and apparently... so did everybody else.  
All of a sudden, my living room did not feel as cosy as it once had been as the thought of the blonde haired Malfoy Matriarch came to mind. The image of her standing, during the Battle of Hogwarts, on the opposite 'side' to me as Hagrid carried a supposedly dead Harry in his arms, ran through my mind and chilled me to my core. It was the look in her eyes; the look of desperation. The look of someone who was willing to do anything to save her son.

Yes, she saved Harry. Yes, she likely changed the outcome of the war. No, she did not deserve to go to Azkaban. But it was desperation that got her through the war. She did not care about the greater good - she did not care about living in a world where Voldemort ruled and committed the genocide of all muggles and muggleborns. She only cared in that moment about saving her son. She was a coward, and she should not have gotten away with what she did.

A knock on the door brought me out of my reverie.

"Andy, hello." I smiled warmly at the woman. Andromeda Tonks stood at my door, dressed in light blue robes, her dark hair loose and flowing. Strong, aristocratic features and high, regal cheekbones complimented natural, full, pink lips which smiled brightly at me as she held up something in her hand.

"I made fruit cake!"

"Well, then, of course you're welcome." I grinned and opened the door wider to let her in. Taking her robes, I hung them up to reveal an expensive-looking blue dress. Andromeda was not a materialistic woman, but she was raised well and she dressed accordingly.

"Don't." I said with a sigh as I watched Andy look around in distaste.

She sighed, "It's just so... Ronald. Not Ronald and Hermione. Ronald."

"Yeah, yeah," I waved her off and placed the fruit cake on the table before walking to the staircase, "Kids, Andromeda is here!" I called out, wandering back to the kitchen as the sound of an elephant stampede filled the room. Moments later, six children burst in, all ginger haired with bright brown eyes and massive grins as they barrelled towards Andy and almost knocked her over trying to be the first to hug her.

"Auntie Andy Auntie Andy!" they squealed, all ranging from the ages of 10 to 3.

"Hi guys." she said, grinning.

"Is Teddy here?" questioned the eldest, a fiery-haired boy named Fred. I smiled softly as memories of the twin filled my mind.

"No, Harry's looking after him today." Andy smiled, "But I did bring presents!"

I rolled my eyes as the kids squealed "Presents!" and gathered around her. I began to set out 8 plates with 8 different slices of fruit cake, and when I was done, the fruit cake was gone and the children had been given their presents. Batting away a fake flying pixie that had been bought for the youngest, a boy named Peter, I told them all to sit down and set about making a cup of tea for Andy and I.

"I never pictured this life for you, y'know, Hermione." Andy muttered, watching me swirl the tea with my wand.

"Well, you're wrong, and so is everyone else."

Look, you're strong, intelligent, brave and bloody stubborn. You're not a stay at home Mum. You suit being the Minister of Magic more, for Merlin's sake!"

"Please. I would never want that job." I rolled my eyes.

"Hermione, they aren't even your children!" Andy exclaimed, careful not to raise her voice. She had a point - they weren't. They were Percy's children. His wife had passed away last year, and whenever his Ministry work took him to other countries we were stuck with all six of them. Ron always offered to Percy to take them, because he wasn't the one that had to deal with them in the daytime. Dealing with one magical child was enough - but six children who weren't old enough to go to Hogwarts and were doing accidental magic left right and centre was mayhem. Just as I thought that, one of the kids set my own piece of fruit cake on fire. Andy casually extinguished it with her wand and gave me a look.  
"Andy, please," I sighed, "There's nothing I can do about it. Anyways, I love Ron."

"No you don't." the older woman snorted.

"Andy!" I admonished angrily - but her and I both knew the anger was only there because she spoke the truth.

"So..." Andy began as the kids gradually began to disappear upstairs until only we were left. I cleaned up the mess with a few flicks of my wand and watched with disapproval as the graceful Pureblooded woman hoisted herself up onto the kitchen counter, dangling her feet off the edge as she stole an apple from my fruit bowl and bit into it.

"So?" I questioned impatiently. Andy laughed at my folded arms and grumpy demeanour as the corners of my mouth twitched upwards in a smile at her adorable expression.

"So my sister got in touch with me today."

"What!?" I shouted, my wand clattering to the floor as I dropped it in shock.

Andy paused, apple in hand, "Woah, calm down. It has been fifteen years since the war! And so much longer since I've seen her!"

"But-b-" I spluttered, shocked at her casual tone. It was Bellatrix Lestrange for God's sake! She was-

"Ohhhhh," Andy interrupted my train of thought, stifling a giggle, "For the brightest witch of her age, you sure are a little slow."

"Wha-"

"Bellatrix is dead, Hermione." Andy muttered, rubbing my forearm slightly as she smiled gently.

"Yeah. I know." I sighed and sipped my tea. It had been 15 years - I was over it. Definitely.

"My other sister got in touch." Andy said, stepping back as she stared wistfully out of the kitchen window. When the burrow had been set on fire all those years ago, all the cornfields had burnt down and never grown back, and in it's place left a ground floor view over lush, rolling green hills. I blinked, and realised what she meant.

"Narcissa?" I questioned, and the name sounded odd coming from my mouth. I realised in all my 32 years on this earth, I had never once spoken that name. I frowned at the realisation, and Andy took that as my disapproval.

"Honestly, Hermione, she's changed - I could tell just through the letter. She was honest, honest - that woman is the most guarded woman I have ever met, and she was able to be honest with me through the first letter she's sent me in 20 years!"

"Well, that's good, then." I shrugged. I didn't care much for the woman, and due to my blood status I doubted she cared much for me.

"And... well, she wondered if you might like to come with me, too. To go and see her, I mean."

"What!?" I spluttered, dropping my cup of tea. It stilled halfway from the ground as Andy levitated it back to the counter before it could smash.

"Well, not directly, I mean," Andy stuttered, "She just mentioned if I would like some company. She wasn't sure who I was really friends with, just said something about seeing me with Harry a lot in the Prophet," I grimaced at the mention of the tabloid, "and thought I might want to take him along. Then I suppose as the three of you were the golden trio she suggested either Ron or you instead if Harry couldn't make it."

"Ron?" I snorted, and Andy stifled a giggle as I fully out belly laughed at the idea of Andromena, Narcissa and Ron going for afternoon tea.

"Yes, well, you can imagine who I picked. I love Harry dearly, but..."

"I know." I said with a sigh, thinking of my best friend. Once he had discovered the glory of drinking away your problems, he was never far from a bottle of whiskey. It only started recently, when a car crash in Muggle London led to the death of Ginny and Percy's wife, with Percy barely escaping with his life. It was a huge step backwards for the Weasley's, too. They had more or less come to hate everything Muggle after that - even Arthur. Ginny had inherited her fathers love for trinkets, and he had been overjoyed when she bought her first car. Ever since, however, Arthur has never even set foot outside the Wizarding world. Ron's parents just stay shacked up in their seaside bungalow in Cornwall, and we began to visit the miserable pair less and less.

"Would you come with me? Please?" Andromeda began to beg, and one look in those deep brown eyes I knew I couldn't say no.

"Fine." I sighed, "But I reserve the right to leave whenever I choose, even if it's in the middle of a conversation."

"Well, that's not very proper - but I'll allow it." Andy winked, looking relieved.

"Now, go, before Ronald get's home."

"Ooh, kicking the mistress out before the wife gets home?" she joked and I flushed red, ushering her out the front door.

"You have a wicked sense of humour." I rolled my eyes and the older woman just winked devilishly before turning on the spot and apparating away. Only seconds after I closed the front door, it was opened again and the sight of my tall, broad shouldered husband appeared in the doorway.

"Hello, darling." I said, smiling softly as I stood on my tiptoes and kissed him lightly on the lips, his rough stubble grazing my cheeks.

"Dinner?" he questioned as I hung up his hat and robes.

"Sorry, I lost track of time," I admitted, "I'll get it on now."

"You know I like it on the table when I get in." Ron said awkwardly, looking slightly annoyed as he sat down on the sofa and turned on the TV. It was the only Muggle thing in the whole house. He had developed an affinity for football ever since I took him to a Premier League match when we were 19, and despite the crash he had kept it. Everything else, including my clothes and books and things from my childhood I had taken with me to the Burrow, Ronald had thrown out of the window and set alight in a horrible bonfire the night of the car crash as he clutched my wand and I screamed at him to stop.

"Sorry, I know that, darling." I apologised again, but it fell on deaf ears this time as his attention was focused entirely on the TV. The image of Andy's disappointed face filled my mind once more as I tried to brush it off and focus on making dinner for Ron and the six children banging about upstairs.


	2. Chapter 2

"Hello." I smiled as I was the one standing on Andy's doorstep this time. 

"Hey." she smiled back warmly and I stepped inside her large cottage.

"So, you ready to go?" I questioned, and Andy giggled and shook her head as I frowned in confusion.

"You're not wearing that."

"What's wrong with this?" I pouted, looking down at my best dress robes, "Are they not expensive enough?"

"No," Andy rolled her eyes, "They're actually very nice robes, but we're not going to Malfoy Manor."

"Oh. Where are we going, then?"

"It's a surprise," Andy giggled, "Now take off your robes."

"Fine." I huffed, stripping down until I was in my underwear, not thinking much of it as Andy was my best friend.

"Right. Um. Yes." Andy blinked, coughing slightly before collecting herself and transfiguring a dress onto my body.

"What the hell?" I laughed slightly as I took in my appearance in her golden, vintage mirror. I was now wearing a light blue summer dress and small white heels. A moment later, Andy was dressed in a loose grey playsuit and sandals. "I'm not going outside in this." I pointed to the window, where it was hailing and pouring with rain.

"Oh, shush." Andy just laughed and cast a glamour charm on the both of us, styling my hair into a messy ponytail and curling her own with her wand. She placed a silver necklace around my neck before stepping back to admire her handiwork. As she looked me over, I took the chance to let my eyes graze appreciatively up and down her body. The 49 year old woman aged so gracefully I was envious. She didn't look a day over my own age. Our eyes connected again and I blushed, stepping forward.

"Ready?"

"Ready." she grinned and took my arm in a side along apparation.  
\--  
The air was still as the stench of dead bodies reached my nose. Casting a bubble-head charm, I shivered despite the sun beating heavily down, creating an oppressive atmosphere. Screaming still filled my ears, men with their arms ripped from the sockets writhing on the floor as their groceries lay abandoned on the cobblestone streets of Ottery-St-Catchpole.

"Sir?" I approached an auror, careful not to pass the magical boundary around the crime scene, "Sir, I'm with the Daily Owler - what happened here?"

The man turned towards me, ready to answer questions, but as our eyes connected he recoiled in disgust. "Madame Malfoy, why are you here?"

I narrowed my eyes at his accusatory tone, but stayed polite, "I'm a reporter with the Daily Owler, Sir, and I was hoping to ask you a few questions."

"I have nothing to say to you, Death Eater," he sneered, "What happened here was the result of people like you and your locked up jailbird husband. You purebloods deserve everything that's coming to you."

"What's coming to us?" I asked, shoving the microphone in his face, ignoring the growing fear in my belly.

The man threw his head back and laughed a menacing laugh, "Oh, just you wait," he grinned, "Just you wait."   
\--  
"What the hell?" I looked around and realised I was not standing before a set of wrought iron gates leading to a gloomy, dingy Manor in the middle of nowhere. We stood facing out to a sea so blue it seemed almost as if someone had painted it. The impossibly light blue water matched the cerulean, domed roofs of the perfectly white houses as the sun beat heavily down upon us and I blessed Andy for the change in outfit. Just thinking of wearing all my robes in this weather made me sweat.  
"Welcome to Greece." Andy's smile was blinding and I realised secretly just how beautiful the woman was.

"This is incredible." I murmured.

"Well, where does the richest woman in Wizarding Britain go to escape the public eye? Wherever the hell she wants!" Andy exclaimed, and I realised how free she felt away from the confines of British society - I realised how free I felt, out here with the sun beating through my veins and a slight sea breeze tickling my face. "Think about it - this is the very opposite of Britain, and you can't get much further in Europe from the UK. It's perfect." Andy shrugged and I could almost see the envy in her eyes. She was the same as me, feeling tied down by the expectations of the friends and family we had back home. But the clean, happy atmosphere here was so enticing I almost felt tempted to throw all caution to the wind and stay here forever - I could tell Andy was the same. It was now completely understandable that the lady of Malfoy Manor escaped here.

"I want to stay here forever." I said giddily and Andy chuckled.

"Same, darling. The sun suits you," she smiled gently and I blushed, "I apparrated us to the edge of town so we can have a small walk to where she wants to meet." Andy began to stride off, and I noticed her wand twitching in her pocket as it guided her where to go.

We strolled in peaceful silence, my hand in the crook of Andy's arm as we looked around in awe. Andy had admitted she had never actually left the UK, and I hadn't even been on holiday since Fifth Year, when Voldemort started to loom and I was away from home more often. A few times, my parents went on holiday without me. Not that I minded - I was too busy fighting an adults war and trying to keep my best friend alive.

"Here we are." Andy smiled gently and kept my arm tucked in hers as she discreetly cast a translation spell and told the waiter we already had a table. Andy spotted her sister before I did, and she guided me to the table at the edge of the quiet Greek cafe. Our small wooden table sat on a balcony on the edge of a cliff, overlooking a brilliant blue sea. 

"Andromeda, Hermione. Hello." came a soft voice, and I turned in surprise. There, standing before me, was Narcissa Malfoy. 

She wore a pale yellow summer dress with a small bow around the middle accentuating her slim waist, a large straw hat placed upon the red checkered tablecloth as she stood to greet us. Any glimpse of brown hair was gone, now replaced with a wonderful, strong dark blonde - and any glimpse of the woman I had known was gone too. A shy smile adorned the face of a woman who appeared to have never seen any trouble in her life, so carefree and happy was she. 

"Hullo, Madame Malfoy." I smiled back gently, and she almost seemed surprised by my welcoming presence, as if she had braced herself for rejection.

"Please, it's Black now." she gestured for us to sit, "But call me Narcissa, or even Cissa, dear. 'Madame' is awfully stiff."

"Must be difficult to be friends with someone that has a lisp." I blurted suddenly. Narcissa's eyebrow quirked up slightly and she let out a full grin as Andy rolled her eyes at me. I realised it was the first time I had ever seen the blonde smile properly.

"Indeed." Narcissa responded gracefully, and I cursed my inability to form a coherent sentence around pretty women.

Pretty? No, she wasn't pretty. I mean... she was pretty.

But, no, not she was not pretty - she was beautiful. Pretty is when you get distracted by her looks enough to bump your shoulder on the door frame as you walk by; beautiful is when you faceplant the wall, missing the door entirely. She was absolutely beautiful.

I didn't notice that, though. I mean, it wasn't on my mind at all. I wasn't paying any attention to the way she pursed her naturally pink lips as she sipped a berry smoothie through a straw and I certainly didn't so much as blink when she crossed her legs and her dress slipped back ever so slightly, revealing tanned, toned legs.

No, that was not on my mind at all.

"Is there magic here?" I decided to change the subject. I was genuinely curious, noticing the muffliato spell shielding us from any eavesdroppers. 

"Well," Narcissa began, and I noticed how her gentle, well-spoken voice was like music to my ears, "The Greeks have their own statue of security and such, but it's very lax on small islands such as this. So witches and wizards don't tend to go about flying on brooms and such, but if Muggles saw, say, a witch transfiguring a pebble into a brolley when the heat got too much, they would most likely turn a blind eye."

"Interesting." I said, noticing how peaceful it was here. A thought suddenly sprung in my mind, and I turned to the woman once more. "When was the last time you came to Britain?"

"Well, I suppose that would be two weeks ago. I needed to sort some things out with Gringotts and send a message to Andy - owls aren't too common around here, unless it's a Ministry Owl because those are oblivious. Unfortunately, I came at a... bad time." Narcissa's eyes connected with mine and I went back to that moment two weeks ago, when I had looked into those eyes once more, surrounded by burning bodies and a deathly silence. It was a sharp contrast to the blindingly white Greek villas surrounding us. 

"Yes. I suppose you did." I blinked.

"Before that..." Narcissa's smile faltered slightly, "Before that, the last time I stepped into Britain was a month after the war when I packed my husband off to Azkaban and never looked back."

"I'm sorry." I said awkwardly.

"Don't be." Narcissa said, eyes burning with a newfound passion.

"It's lovely to see you, Cissy." Andy suddenly said. I realised I had forgotten she was there.

"I've missed you so, so much." Narcissa responded, looking lovingly at her sister.

"I've missed you more than you could know." Andy replied, and all of a sudden I felt as if I was intruding on a particularly private moment.

"I'm going to have a look at the... yeah." I stood up awkwardly and Andy laughed at me.

"You're much more awkward than I remember." Narcissa noted, a hint of humour in her voice.

"She can joke, wow." I retorted sarcastically, feeling an odd sense of pride as a bubble of surprised laughter escaped from the blonde's mouth. They continued their conversation and I approached the small bar, casting a translation spell on myself as the chalk writing on the board rearranged itself from Greek to English.

"Hello, are you from here?" came a deep voice. I turned to see a pretty girl not much younger than me, dressed in shorts and a bikini top with light green eyes and long, soft, raven hair.

"No, I'm from England." I responded with a kind smile, the past few years having allowed me to finally get over my immediate distrust of strangers left by the war.

"I can hear it," she grinned, revealing a set of perfect teeth, "in your voice. Can I buy you a drink?" the girl asked, and I could see her intentions were more than friendly.

"Sorry, I'm here with friends." I said, tucking my hair behind my ear so she could see my wedding ring.

"Oh," she spotted it, "My bad." the girl looked disappointed, but smiled nonetheless, taking the rejection easily.

"The Greek are very... free." came a wonderful voice, and I couldn't contain my smile as Narcissa Black slid into the seat beside me. "Gender, sexuality, faith... they don't care. They love so freely, and so deeply." Narcissa let out a sigh, and I could see slight envy in her eyes. Was she lonely here? I knew first hand how difficult it was to let people in, and she had suffered through horrors I could barely begin to imagine - even long before the war started.

"Mmm..." I nodded, and could tell she heard the envy in my voice too as a gentle breeze caressed our bodies. Silently, Narcissa rose from her bar stool and I followed her out of the cafe to sit upon a patch of grass overlooking the ocean. The blonde had been wearing brown wedged heels, but she now slipped them off and wriggled her toes in the fresh, green grass. I did the same as she spoke.

"Andromeda went for a walk. She needed some time to... think. It's a lot," Narcissa waved her hand in a decidedly ungraceful gesture, "All of this. For her. I'm just happy to have her back in my life." I watched, unable to disguise my surprise as she slipped on a pair of black sunglasses and flopped down on the ground. "I haven't seen that look in such a long time." she grinned, "I've actually missed it."

"What look?" I giggled.

"That look of shock. When I do something that isn't graceful. It was a rare look, mind you. Mostly got it in my first few years at Hogwarts, but it was nice. So," Narcissa propped herself up on an elbow and watched me. I found it eerie, the way I couldn't see her eyes. "You're married. The Weasley boy, I presume?" she probed, and I wondered briefly when we had reached this level of familiarity. Then, I realised I did not particularly care. I suddenly felt a complete willingness to cough up every intimate detail of my life in order to stay in the spotlight of her heady gaze.

"Yes. Ronald and I have been married for... well, our fifteen year anniversary is coming up at the end of this year, a few months after the Ministry Ball." sighing, I flopped down beside her.

"They still send me the bloody invites." Narcissa grumbled and I couldn't help the hand that flew to my mouth.

"Language, Madame Black!" I scolded with a giggle and Narcissa let out a laugh so carefree I almost thought perhaps she had stolen it from someone else.

"I've never been to that ball." Narcissa admitted.

"Wish I could say the same. Ronald drags me along every year."

"Hmm. How times have changed. I used to be the one organising balls such as that."

"They have Romilda Vane doing the decorations now." I grinned.

"How utterly awful. They must be appalling, surely?" Narcissa guffawed.

"They're just as you're imagining... then, worse. Think, the union of all four houses."

"Oh God, not all four colours at once? Merlin's beard." Narcissa slapped her forehead and laughed once more, thanking the God's that I somehow had the ability to draw out such a heavenly sound. "Any children?" 

"No," I responded, "I take Birth Control," I admitted shamefully, "It's a Muggle medic-"

"I know what it is, Hermione," she smiled gently, "I'm not as ignorant as I used to be. Still just as stuck up, but not quite as ignorant. I take it the Weasley boy doesn't know?"

"No. He doesn't." I looked away shamefully, unsure why I had just told the woman something even Andy didn't know. Everything was so confusing with her. I found myself drawn to her, like a moth to a flame. The mere fact that she appeared to refuse to call Ron by his name gave me some sort of sick pleasure.

"Well, I suppose that's quite good. A child with that much stubbornness and Gryffindor in his blood would be an absolute disaster." Narcissa sniffed.

"How kind of you to say." I grinned.

 

"Come," she stood, dusting herself off, "we should find where Andy's gotten to."

It was quiet as we headed back through the Greek town. The sun had begun it's descent in the sky and I felt the warmth in my chest spread through me like tendrils of happiness.   
It was odd, I realised. I had not felt this happy in a long time - longer than I could remember.

We gradually climbed upwards, walking up cobblestone streets and through light alleyways filled with balconies above decorated with lush plants. Trees sprung up alongside us, children reaching to grab the fruit from the lowest hanging branches as their parents called them in for dinner. Eventually, we could walk no further as we reached the peak of the hill and the sea stretched out before us, never-ending, reflecting the sunset above. Red and yellow streaked across the sky as Narcissa fumbled around in her bag for a small key.   
Two bright blue wooden doors stood before us, with vibrant red flowers snaking up the sides of the light brown, stone villa.

"Welcome to my home." Narcissa said gently, and I could have sworn there was a hint of vulnerability in her voice as she pushed open the door to reveal one of the most beautiful living rooms I had ever seen. It was two storeys high, with the second floor balcony running around the edge of the room above. In the middle, a small, rectangular swimming pool with dark green tiles contrasting to the white walls. A TV on one end, with sofas surrounding it, and low laying Recamier's surrounded the pool. Large trees and overhanging plants climbed the walls all the way up to the glass ceiling, where the sunset gave the room a hazy golden glow. 

"Your house is beautiful." I said earnestly, looking around in awe.

"Thank you," she responded politely, and I could tell she appreciated the compliment, "I designed it myself." 

We continued to wander through her house as she gave me a tour, and I couldn't contain my genuine surprise. It was clean, yes, but cluttered, with various artefacts from around the world scattered on shelves and bookcases, and unmoving photographs of Narcissa posing with Muggles in Holland, Syria, Turkey, Lebanon, Iceland and so many other places I couldn't recognise.

"It's how I stayed out of the papers back in Britain," Narcissa suddenly explained, breaking the silence as she watched me pick up a framed picture of her holding a young, dark-skinned boy on her hip as he waved a banana excitedly at the camera, "I immersed myself in Muggle culture. I didn't renounce magic, but barely used it and didn't communicate with a single wizard, save for my son, for almost...well, for 15 years I suppose."

Her son. 

I thought of Draco for the first time in years, wondering where he was now. Just like his mother, after the war he had disappeared from Britain. There were even rumours that he had died, however those were likely just that - rumours. I made to ask Narcissa how Draco was doing, but she had already moved into the next room. We went down a flight of stairs, descending into darkness, and I realised how much trust I had in this woman. She could be taking me down into a dungeon, where her husband lay waiting to torture the Golden Girl into insanity. And, yet, I found I was willing to follow her anywhere.

"Wow." I whispered, taking in the bedroom. It was almost like a cave, with white walls and yellow lamps dotting the edge of the room. A large double bed sat against the wall to my right, with thin white bedcovers and light blue pillows. A soft white carpet covered the whole of the floor and a small red curtain covered the round doorway that led to the room. There was not much else in the room, save for a small, rickety wardrobe and a wooden bedside table. However, the most stunning feature in the room was the windows. On my left, the windows were floor to ceiling, overlooking the glistening sea, and took away the potential claustrophobic atmosphere the room might have.

"This will be your room for however long you wish." Narcissa said pleasantly.

"My room? What do you mean?" I frowned - my plan had been dinner and a goodbye, especially when I had thought we had been going to Malfoy Manor. The idea of staying overnight in that place made me shiver.

"Well - I, I suppose I thought you might be staying here for a few days." Narcissa looked crestfallen, and I raised my eyebrows when I realised I would do just about anything to never see her look that way again.

"I mean - no, yes," I bit my lip, "Sorry, I got confused. Yes, I am staying."

"Oh, wonderful!" Narcissa beamed. I followed her back up into the main section of the house and she took me up a flight of stairs this time. We walked around the balcony that overlooked the pool in the middle of the house and she took me into another room. "There's only one bathroom, I'm afraid. By the time I built this part of the house I realised I wasn't going to really get many - well, any guests, so I only had one bathroom installed." Narcissa explained, and I frowned, realising how lonely she must be out here. I had noticed how the locals gave the blonde friendly waves and smiles but never really tried to engage in conversation. In all honesty, despite how much she had changed, Narcissa still was the Lady of the Manor - and to those who didn't know her, she could appear cold and disinterested. Not that I knew her, however. Although I found myself wishing I wish I did.  
The bathroom once again took me by surprise, just by how beautiful it was. All of the walls were panelled with wood, and the ceiling was, like the living room, made of glass, although as we entered Narcissa pressed a button on the wall and a screen drew over it. The bath was the largest I had ever seen, save for the Prefects bath at Hogwarts. It sat within a large block of stone bricks, and was level with the floor, so you stepped down into it. The taps were large and golden and operated in the Muggle way - all her plumbing seemed to work just like a Muggle house. Then, past the bath was a wonderfully simple shower with a large showerhead and what appeared to be fake plants dangling down.   
It seemed to be the end of the tour, but just as I turned to the woman beside me to gush about how wonderful her home was, I heard a knock on the door.


	3. Chapter 3

"Narcissa, hello." I heard a careful, pronounced American accent filter through the doorway as a man stood in the hallway. He was tall, roughly in his late 50's, well-dressed, and classically handsome with short, grey hair and a grey stubble. The man clutched a bouquet of red and white roses to his silk, black shirt as he smiled, revealing a set of blindingly white, straight teeth.

"Arwin!" Narcissa gushed, striding forward to place a soft kiss on his cheek as he presented her with the flowers. "They're gorgeous." she smiled and took them happily. "Oh, this is my guest, Hermione Granger." Narcissa added, and I stepped forward carefully, shaking his hand. At first glance, Narcissa had looked overjoyed at the sight of the man, and I had to ignore the pool of jealousy forming as he held my hand in a firm grip. However, when I glanced at the blonde, I realised there was a slight frown on her face, and as I stepped away she masked it back into a look of smooth pleasure.

"Arwin Apostolos." he introduced himself, and I resisted the urge to run away from his creepy smile. A second later, another man appeared, this one more like a boy. He looked to be not much younger than me, but his scrawny, lanky, shaven appearance placed him to come across even younger.

"Alfio." said the man with a strong Greek accent, flashing a toothy grin. He bounded up to me and shook my hand vigorously before doing the same to Narcissa. "Pleasure to see you again, Mrs Black! And you, her guest, hello!" he said excitedly.

"This is my son, Alfio." Arwin said, ruffling the boys hair. I frowned - it was an odd gesture, seeing as 'Alfio' appeared to be in his late twenties despite his awkward gait. 

"I have returned the dog!" Alfio said with a flourish, before placing two fingers in his mouth and whistling so loudly I winced. A moment later, a golden Labrador appeared. It had to be the fattest dog I had ever seen - it walked slowly, with a dopey expression on it's face as it spotted it's owner and bounded up to the blonde. 

"Hello, Pyxis." Narcissa said lovingly, the only woman able to crouch down and pet the dog whilst still looking incredibly graceful. Alfio, who wore only yellow shorts and a white vest top with nothing on his feet, grinned once more and turned to go.

"Papa, we're going to be late!" he announced, and once again I found myself grimacing at the childlike antics of the man.

"Yes, yes, I'm coming. It was lovely to meet you, Hermione." Arwin said and I nodded awkwardly. He took Narcissa in his large, clumsy man hands and placed a sloppy kiss upon her lips before striding out the door once more. As they disappeared around the corner, and the peace of the quiet Greek evening settled upon us, I briefly wondered if perhaps I had just imagined them.

"Arwin, he's... well," Narcissa bit her lip, "I haven't known him for long, we met after Alfio started walking Pyxis for me. He's very... persuasive."

"Ahh. Right," I responded awkwardly, desperate for the conversation to move to something else, "Pyxis is a lovely name for a dog."

"Yes," Narcissa smiled, "It doesn't have a terribly deep or meaningful reason behind it, I just wanted to follow the family tradition of constellations and such, and Pyxis really stuck with me." she shrugged and I smiled as I realised how had we had this conversation 15 years ago, she would not have felt as comfortable or safe in her own body to do a simple gesture like that - shrugging. As I was thinking that, there was the sound of footsteps approaching us, and I grimaced as I prepared myself for the return of the to Apostolos'.

"There you are." Narcissa said suddenly, and I turned to see Andromeda standing sheepishly in the doorway. It was now dark, and I realised I had forgotten all about her.

"I'm sorry to arrive and just leave, but I must get home to check on Teddy. I'll see you in the morning, yes?"

"That's perfectly fine." Narcissa nodded and Andromeda kissed both her cheeks before drawing me into a bear hug and leaning into my ear.

"Thank you for coming." she whispered earnestly, and I shivered as her hot breath tickled my ear. 

"Sooky." Narcissa suddenly called out. I blinked, and realised I couldn't remember the last time I had seen a house elf. 'Sooky' popped into existence and I held back my surprise as a proud, well-dressed-for-a-house-elf creature appeared.

"Yes, Mistress?" the elf asked in a booming, deep voice, bowing low.

"We'll have our dinner out on the patio tonight, please. Just for two."

"As you wish."

"Thank you." Narcissa smiled as the elf disappeared, turning back to me and laughing when she saw my mouth, propped wide open in shock. "We aren't all monsters, Miss Granger."

"Right. Well, I mean - it's - you must admit it's surprising."

"I've changed a lot since the war. As have you. As have we all." 

"I haven't changed much." I frowned as we began to walk through her home, the air warm and clear.

"Yes. You have." Narcissa responded simply. I followed her out onto a large balcony. Her house was at the very top of the hill and gave a view of the houses and open dinners happening all around and below us. Lanterns strung around the houses nestled in the side of the hill lit up the night sky as we took a seat at a small table laid out by Sooky. The dinner looked and smelt incredible - it seemed to be some sort of Greek dish and Narcissa giggled at my enthusiasm as I took in the scene before us.

"If you told me three weeks ago I would be dining under the stars with Narcissa Black on a Greek Island I would have told you that you needed to be locked up in St. Mungo's psychiatric ward." I announced, taking a sip of the delicious red wine. 

"I could honestly say the same to you. I've had no contact with a single wizard for a long time, especially not... well, forgive me, but one third of the Golden Trio."

"Brightest witch of her age!" I chuckled dryly, toasting my wine glass in the air as I took a large, ungraceful gulp.

"Not a fan of that particular moniker, then?" Narcissa smirked.

"I was when I was younger. I loved it, actually, it boosted my ego immensely. Now it's just... weary. The fact that Rita Skeeter often references it in her... enlightening articles about   
me is just another one of the many reasons I now dislike it."

"I don't blame you, although I must admit the 'Ice Queen' was always something I was quite fond of too," Narcissa smiled slightly, as if looking back on a memory, "I sort of enjoyed the power it gave me. Now..." she trailed off, seeming forlorn, "It reminds me of how scared I was. Terrified to let anyone in, surrounded by murderous psychopaths, unable to escape for fear of losing my son. I couldn't let anyone see past the façade. Not even my family." Narcissa sighed then, crossing her legs and taking a dainty sip of her wine as we continued eating. The candles flickered gently in the soft evening breeze and I found myself absentmindedly staring up at the stars, picking out the various constellations in the Greek sky. 

"I never thought about it that way." I admitted, slightly ashamed.

"Oh?" she paused.

"I suppose I assumed everyone that served Voldemort," Narcissa flinched slightly at the name, "Was as crazily devoted as Bellatrix, for example. The thought never crossed my mind that you might only be there because you had no other choice."

"Oh, I had a choice," Narcissa chuckled darkly, bitterness seeping into her voice, "But I was a coward. I was so desperate to keep my son safe I didn't consider the detrimental effect it might have on my his mental health, being exposed to so many horrors at such a young age... Andy used to send me owls, you know? Especially when the Dark Lord was rumoured to rise again, and Draco was at Hogwarts," she sighed, "She sent me so many owls. Offers. To go and live with her. And I didn't go. I didn't even reply. I allowed one of my son's professors' to be tortured hanging above my own dining room table instead."

"Narcissa," I sighed, not thinking about propriety as I took her hand in mine across the table in what I imagined would be a comforting gesture, "What's done is done. All you can do is try and move on."

"How can I move on?" Narcissa asked desperately, and I realised it was the most unguarded I had ever seen her as her eyes swum with tears, "My own son hasn't spoken to me in 15 years. I'm too scared to leave this island. I'm stuck with every day the same. I have no friends, no family..." Narcissa trailed off, leaning back to look up at the stars. Her hand slipped from mine and I made to retrieve it but she leant forwards once more anyway and clutched it in her grasp like a lifeline.

"You have Andy now," I said strongly, squeezing her hand, "And... you, well - you have me. A friend," I winked at her, letting out a small breath as she smiled gratefully, "And as much as you would like it to happen, I'm not going anywhere."

"Oh. What a shame." Narcissa joked back feebly.

"There she is." I smiled softly and drew back my hand. We finished our meal in peace, both feeling as if a slight weight had been lifted off our chests that night. When we were done, Narcissa stood and held out her hand, guiding me down the few steps on the balcony leading back through the large glass doors to her living room.

"You remember where your room is, yes?" she questioned with a gentle smile.

"Brightest witch of her age, remember?" I grinned and she rolled her eyes.

"Quite."

"Oh, um..." as Narcissa turned to go, I stopped her, "I don't actually have any clothes."

"Right," the blonde laughed merrily, eyes twinkling, "Of course you don't, my bright witch. Follow me." ignoring the way her words made me shiver, I kept my eyes glued to the floor and not her backside as we travelled up the stairs and into a room I realised she hadn't shown me previously.

It was not obnoxiously large - the same size as mine, with minimal furniture. A large, king-sized bed, a dressing table on either side, a wardrobe, a bookshelf and a chest of drawers, all light wood and well looked after. Large, floor to ceiling glass doors were wide open with the thin white curtains blowing inside and the moon shining brightly above, creating white waves in the black sea.

"Full moon." Narcissa commented. She did not sound superstitious, nor did she sound dismissive, merely seemed in awe of the beauty of nature. I wondered if she knew she was so much more beautiful. "Here." the blonde threw open the doors of her wardrobe and... climbed inside?

"Clever extension charm." I commented, climbing inside to reveal a large - literal - walk in wardrobe. How could I have ever thought Narcissa Black - the one and only Narcissa Black, would ever have a wardrobe that small?

"Mm... that will do..." I watched in wonder as she twirled about the room dragging various outfits from their shelves and hangers and shoving them in a bag along with presumably matching shoes, "I presume that will last you a few days?"

"Um... yeah," I responded, staring at the bulging bag she shoved in my arms, "Should be just about right."

"Wonderful," Narcissa beamed, "You know where the bathroom is. There's shampoo and conditioner in there, and you may have a bath or shower, I don't mind."

"Right, thanks." I blinked, slightly overwhelmed at the woman before me who could have easily passed as a muggle. Aside from the Narnia-style wardrobe and the house elf, it was incredibly refreshing how much she lived without magic. She had dragged the clothes from the shelves herself, and placed them in a bag without putting a lightening charm on it. I chuckled as I realised had Ron known where I was right now, he would likely have a fit - being wined and dined by the wife of a death eater in the middle of a Greek Island? I could hardly believe it myself.

When I reached my room again, which I thankfully found without much difficulty, I had only just stepped inside when there was a pop and her house elf appeared.

"Sooky, hello." I smiled graciously at the elf and he returned it just as warmly. Now I was paying full attention to the elf, I saw that there was a small tuft of grey hair atop his head, and it was neatly combed down. Narcissa really did take care of him, although I knew she was a minority. I thought guiltily back to my S.P.E.W days - I was a fool to think I could change the world myself. Part of me wished I could start that up again, but I knew it was foolish. Ronald would never support it, and I had lost hope in advocating any kind of change in the Wizarding World now anyways.

"Misses Granger, hello. Mistress Black instructed me to bring you some towels. Please do not try and free me. I have heard about you from the Hogwarts elves."

"Oh," I laughed bemusedly, "Right. I won't, I promise. Thank you." I took the towels from his outstretched arm and left the room, deciding I might as well shower now. When I arrived at the door, it was slightly ajar, and I pushed it open only to be hit by a large cloud of steam. Recoiling slightly, my eyes adjusted to reveal Narcissa standing at the mirror above the sink. She wore nothing but a towel, and was dripping wet as she watched her reflection, combing her wet hair.

"Hermione!" Narcissa turned and beamed at me, oblivious to my state of panic as I desperately tried to keep my eyes from looking at her. I settled on the fluffy towels in my arms as I mumbled an apology.

"...didn't know there was anyone here..." I said awkwardly, ready to back out of the room.

"Oh, no worries, I'm finished now." Narcissa beamed at me and placed the brush back down, "Besides, we're all women here, aren't we?" the blonde sauntered forward and brushed past me in the doorway, winking as I blushed furiously and almost slammed the door shut behind her, breathing heavily.

When I finished my shower, there was no sign of Narcissa and I headed back to my room in peace. I noticed Sooky had prepared the room for me, with a glass of water by the bed, the sheets changed and all the clothes in the wardrobe.

I gave a hum of surprise when I opened the wardrobe door to reveal Muggle pyjama shorts and a vest top. It was plain and comfortable, and I relished in the simplicity of it.

"Hermione?" came a silky voice floating down the stairs. I blinked as two, smooth, bare legs came into view and Narcissa appeared in my bedroom, clad only in a black, silk night dress.

"Hello." I croaked out, my throat suddenly dry. Blinking, I shook my head. Blinked again. Recomposed myself.

"I just wanted to check everything was up to your standards." she joked, smiling softly.

"Yes." I said stiffly. She looked absolutely incredible, her hair up in a small bun and her skin glowing with no makeup on.

"Okay." Narcissa lingered in the doorway, almost as if she didn't want to say goodnight yet.

"Would you stay for a while? It's not that late." I suddenly blurted out, cursing the two glasses of wine I had earlier. Of course she would say no, how could I be so stupid as to think that-

"Yes, that would be lovely." Narcissa stepped further into the room and perched on the edge of the bed, watching me with tender eyes.

"I'm just going to get changed." I said, before turning around the corner and using my wand to change quickly. I had almost forgotten I had it - today was the longest I had gone without using it and it had only been a few hours. When I went back around the corner, Narcissa had stood and pushed open what I thought had been windows but were actually doors, and was now stood on the small, stone balcony, looking out to sea. 

"Hey there." Narcissa said quietly as I appeared beside her. The heat of the day still lingered and neither of us were cold as we stood in the night air. I found myself brushing shoulders with Narcissa as we both glanced up at the sky.

"A shooting star!" I gasped in childlike awe - I had never actually seen a shooting star, and had long since believed they were only something that appeared in fairy tales. "Quick, make a wish!"

"A wish? Why?" Narcissa frowned.

"Quickly just do it before it goes and I'll explain in a sec!" 

"Okay." Narcissa squeezed her eyes shut tight and I saw her lips move slightly as she mumbled her incoherent wish. A second passed, and the star was gone. I realised with a blink that I could have wished for anything in the world, but all I wanted then was for this woman standing next to me to be happy.


	4. Chapter 4

Morning came before I knew it, and I stretched out my arms lazily, having slept well for the first time in months. My arms reached out and found my husband, and I sleepily pulled him towards me, burying my face in his hair.

However, his hair did not smell of cologne, fresh parchment and the musky ministry. It smelt of white raspberry and mint shampoo, and it felt so much smoother, softer and was definitely much longer, than I remembered. The body in my arms was taut muscle without a beer belly in sight and I was sure Ronald did not wear silk.

Oh shit.

I'm spooning Draco Malfoy's mother.

A second passed. Then another. I realised it was still dark - morning had not quite come yet, and the sun was still slumbering just as the woman in my arms was. I also realised I was incredibly comfy, and did not want to move at all. Memories of a few hours prior when Narcissa called for Sooky to bring us a bottle of wine flashed through my head before I succumbed to sleep once more, my face nestled in the crook of the witch's neck.

I woke again, many hours later, to an empty bed. Blinking, I sat up and realised, with slight disappointment and slight relief, that it had all been a dream, and that despite how vivid it felt, Narcissa must just have had retired to her room afterward.

"Misses Granger." Sooky popped into my room, greeting me with a bow. Despite how well he was treated, I still couldn't help but feel it was immoral, 'owning' a house elf.

"Hello, Sooky." I responded, my voice slightly groggy after just waking up.

"Mistress Black apologised for her sudden disappearance. She invited you for dinner in the Sun room."

Oh. I suppose it wasn't a dream after all. Ignoring the slight flush of warmth that realisation gave me, I quickly questioned "Uhh... Where is the Sun room?" before Sooky could disappear.

"Where the indoor water is, Misses." Sooky sniffed slightly and I realised there was a very slight hint of a Greek accent when he spoke. He also did not refer to himself in third person, which only assuaged my morality concerns slightly.

"Thank you." I decided to stay in the shorts and top as I padded up the surprisingly warm stone steps and after a few twists and turns, found myself in the 'Sun room'. It looked glorious in the morning sunshine, and I realised after feeling a slight breeze and looking up that the glass was gone, and the sun was beating openly down upon my face.

"Good morning!" I heard a cheery voice and looked over in shock when I saw Narcissa. Or, more - what she was wearing. All she had on was a sheer, long, white cardigan and a black bikini top with high waisted bikini bottoms.

"Good... hello," I responded awkwardly, "It appears I'm overdressed."

"Quite," Narcissa grinned, "Mind if I change that?" she winked flirtatiously and I felt a shiver run down my spine. An elegant, smooth black wand was produced seemingly from nowhere and I watched her perform a seamless transfiguration of my clothes into a dark green bikini which appeared to leave nothing to the imagination.

"One would be hard pressed to ever imagine you were in Slytherin." I commented, glancing at the colour, ignoring how self conscious I felt in front of the god-like woman. She had abs - abs, for Christ's sake! 

Even the most incredible models in the world would cower under not just her beauty but the sheer grace and confidence Narcissa Black exuded from every pore.

"Green suits you." was her only reply as she dropped the cardigan and stepped down into the pool. I shrugged and followed suit as two stools that had not been there before appeared and Narcissa took a seat at one. We were sat on the underwater stools with water going up to our waists as a large breakfast spread appeared on the tiles in front of us. Fresh fruit of every kind, Avocado on toast, steaming hot pancakes with bacon and maple syrup, toast with all kinds of spreads and rows of bowls of cereal stared back at me.

"Seems a bit excessive." I said with a laugh, raising my eyebrows.

"Only the best for a Black," she winked, "Sooky seems to be quite a fan of you, although he would never admit it." 

"You've come a long way since I last saw you." I suddenly commented, turning to look deep into her grey eyes. I noticed they were now a strong shade of blue in the sunlight as they reflected off of the rich pool water.

"You only see what I show you." Narcissa merely murmured, and I decided that was a conversation for another time.

"Cheers." I said, lifting my wine glass filled with orange juice.

"Cheers," Narcissa responded, gently clinking our glasses together, "It's so lovely to have company here."

"It's lovely just to be here. I needed some time away."

"From the Weasley boy?" Narcissa smirked.

"Stop calling him that!" I admonished the older woman, but there was no bite to my tone as I couldn't hold back my bright smile. Everything felt so incredibly perfect in that moment, sitting in the sun with the heat on my back, the cool water on my legs, the incredible food and the most wonderful woman beside me.

It wouldn't last. I knew it wouldn't. I would have to go back soon. Ron had been reluctant enough to let me go and see my 'aunt and uncle' - who didn't exist - as it was, let alone stay with them for a few days. I didn't want to push it.

"Hello, darling boy!" I heard Narcissa gush as her overweight Golden Retriever lumbered over to the poolside.

"You should really put him on a diet, y'know, it's unhealthy." I commented, not being able to resist grinning at the adorable dog.

"He's been on a diet for five years now Hermione, I don't know how he does it!" Narcissa laughed, and her eyes were sparkling now as she slipped from the stool and swum to the steps at the edge of the pool. Pyxis managed to go down two steps before he was exhausted, so he lay on the step with his head on the edge of the pool and half his body submerged in water. Narcissa sat one step down and I watched with a smile on my face as she stroked him gently.

All of a sudden, the peace was disrupted as we heard a swoop of wings and an owl descended from above, dropping a letter onto Narcissa's head and swopping out without so much as slowing down. 

"Damn ministry birds." I muttered, wading forward, picking the letter up from where it now floated on the surface of the pool. I expected it to be soaking wet, however, I quickly realised there appeared to be a charm on it to prevent any damage.

"I've thrown those into the fireplace more times than I can count," Narcissa wrinkled her nose, "They just come floating right back."

"Ugh. I really don't want to go." I sighed, leaning back at the edge of the pool. Both of us recognised it as an invitation to the annual 'War Commemoration Ministry Ball'. Narcissa swum over to me and it took me a second to realise she was technically straddling me as she pushed me against the wall. I watched her in complete and utter shock as I felt her wet body slide up against me. She floated in complete and utter obliviousness as a look of deep thought crossed her face.

"I'll come." Narcissa announced after a few moments of silence where I found myself unable to breathe, or even move as her arms held her balance either side of me on the wet tiles.

"You will?"

"Yes," Narcissa said, and it sounded like a conclusion before she added, "Unless you don't want me to?"

"No, of course I do." I shot her a smile and it was so utterly genuine I could see the warmth spread through Narcissa's body as she reacted with her own, unique, electrifying smile.

"I just think... well, I don't want you to forget about me when you go back to England. It would be nice to see you again, have a confirmed date."

"Date. Yeah," I nodded dumbly before stuttering as I felt Narcissa freeze, "I mean, not a date - like, just a date, y'know?" I mumbled as the blonde all of a sudden realised what an odd position she was in and moved back, sending ripples of water through the silky pool.

"If you end up buying a dress... you should wear green. You look dashing in green." Narcissa cocked her head to the side and we stayed silent, my chest rising and falling heavily as her eyes bore into me. "Yes," she muttered, her mind now elsewhere, "Yes." Narcissa turned and left the pool.

This wouldn't last. But fuck, it was nice while it did.

\--

"Morning, sunshine." Andy appeared in the Sun room after Narcissa had gone to get the door.

"Hey, Andy." I beamed at the brunette as she gave me a swift hug, dressed in short denim jeans and a white vest top with black converse.

"You can relax here for a bit, I need to go and get changed." I said apologetically, my cheeks burning as I spotted Andy glancing up and down my body as I walked away in the bikini. 

When I returned, Andy was lounging on one of the sofas and Narcissa had just appeared. She wore small denim shorts, a loose, beige button up shirt with matching heels and the large, floppy straw hat from the previous day. Sooky had laid out an outfit for me on the bed so I put it on without hesitation and felt quite proud when I looked in the mirror - a day or so in the sun had done me good, and my skin was already glowing with happiness after being starved of it by British weather for so long. 

Narcissa looked surprised when I walked in, but I supposed that was due to the fact that I was wearing her clothes - a white denim skirt with brown heeled boots and a light brown, suede, off the shoulder top. I realised that Narcissa and I were matching, and wondered if Sooky had done that on purpose.

"You look lovely." Narcissa commented, and I managed for once not to blush due to the scrutinizing gaze of the brunette.

Andy raised an eyebrow suspiciously, but said nothing.

"Where are we going today?" I questioned as Andy stood up.

"It's a surprise." Narcissa winked, striding off. We followed her as it seemed to be the only option, and left the villa. The walk through the town, gradually heading down the hill, was spent in companionable silence - however, the small town itself was the opposite. There were shouts and screams of laughter as small Greek children ran amok through light, twisting alleyways, and elderly women helped their sons set up small fruit stalls.

I felt immensely happy as Andy slipped her hand into the crook of my arm and we strolled along, with Narcissa smiling and greeting strangers as we walked. I had my best friend on one side and Narcissa on the other, a complete enigma, who up until yesterday could have been dead for all I cared - yet now, her happiness felt like the most important thing in the world to me. When I first met her here, I thought she really seemed like the happiest woman in the world, but the more time I spent with her, the more I realised that despite having all the money she could ever want or need, despite living on a beautiful island with handsome suitors and adorable dogs, she was still just... lonely.

We reached the bottom of the hill and after a few twists and turns through sunlit, stone alleyways we reached a dock, where an impressive yacht stood waiting. It was not particularly large, or particularly flashy, but it was absolutely lovely and likely very expensive. The word 'Draco' was painted on the side and my heart panged for the Mother as her eyes grazed over the writing. Sooky appeared on the dock, and I looked around, panicked, before realising we were all alone on the sandy beach. The elf helped us onto the boat, as Andy and I stood there gobsmacked.

"What's this? It doesn't look much like any boats I've seen." Andy commented, looking around in awe.

"It's a yacht." I whispered - and what a yacht it was. Whilst on the outside it appeared expensive yet not particularly outstanding, the inside was lavish, with cream leather seats and wood panelled walls. Below deck there was a bar, a bathroom, a living room type area and even a tiny room with a soft looking double bed.

"Didn't design this one myself," Narcissa admitted, "And it was second hand."

"Narcissa Black, buying something second hand? Never did I think I would live to see this day." Andy snorted.

"Next you'll be telling us you get your clothes at Oxfam." I laughed.

"Oxfam? What's that?" Andy asked, and Narcissa looked equally puzzled.

"It's a... charity shop- never mind. Not important. Why did you buy it second hand?" I asked, sure there was a reason. Narcissa Black was never one to settle for second best.

"Something about legal rights with the name. Someone already had a boat with the name Draco so I couldn't buy my own and name it that," Narcissa sniffed, "My yacht would have been much bigger. So, I bought the yacht from him."

"Right." I rolled my eyes.

"Well, he didn't want to sell at first..." Narcissa shrugged, "So I bought his company and threatened to fire him if he didn't sell me the boat."

"Is that legal?" Andy laughed.

"Probably not," Narcissa grinned, and it was a devilish grin, "I was planning to buy another, much larger boat and swap the names, but..." she looked around, "I ended up becoming quite fond of this. And I'm the only one who uses it anyways. It would be stupid to go bigger."

Hours passed like seconds as we sailed out to sea, the wind on our faces as we ploughed through the crystal clear waters. The sea turned a dark blue as we headed further out and the shore became a line on the horizon. 

Lunch was served on the open deck, and I felt like Meryl Streep in Mamma Mia as we lounged on pool beds and dangled grapes above our mouths like Ancient Roman emperors. Well, I did - Narcissa and Andromeda lay carefully poised on their backs, soaking up the sun, eating their fruit like proper purebloods. I was from a middle class family and considered myself quite polite and well mannered - however, no matter how hard I tried, I looked like an idiot when in the presence of the two aristocratic women.

We swam in the Greek ocean, sunbathed under the hot, Greek sun and, eventually, had drinks with an uninhibited view of the Greek sunset.

"Cheers to a lovely day!" Narcissa toasted, a joyous smile on her face as we clinked our wine glasses. Both the brunette and the blonde's faces were tinged red with happiness and a day in the sun as we enjoyed the chill of the evening start to settle in. We went for one last swim, with the sunset turning the water gold, before heading back to dry land. Narcissa took the wheel this time, instead of Sooky driving it with magic, and I watched her, impressed as she navigated the waters. 

"You really have changed." Andy said with a fond smile as she stood beside me, watching her sister.

"For the better, I hope?" Narcissa responded, flashing her a cheeky grin.

"Of course." Andy responded with a giggle.

"Where are we going?" I asked with a frown as I realised we were not heading to the dock. Andy looked equally puzzled.

"I have somewhere I dock the boat at night." Narcissa responded with a shrug. She appeared to be heading straight into a the cliffs at the edge of the hill, and despite my experiences with platform 9 3/4 I flinched as the boat sailed straight through the wall, revealing a cave with a stream of turquoise sea water. Lanterns dangled from above lighting the way like the sun above a venetian canal as the clear water reflected onto the stone walls. Gradually, we entered a large, cavernous room with a wooden dock. The rope tied itself around the dock securing the boat in place.

"Is this connected to your house?" I questioned, looking impressed.

"Yes, it is." Narcissa grinned proudly and I realised we were alone on the boat as Andy, and likely Sooky, had gone.

"How did we get up the hill?"

"Well, Hermione," Narcissa stepped forward until she was so close our foreheads almost touched and my heart began to pound in my ears as my eyes dropped to her lips and I waited for her next words, "There's this thing called... Magic!" Narcissa blew heavily on my face as I yelped in surprise.

"Oh, you bitch!" I shouted with a laugh, pushing her away as I folded my arms crossly, "How can I ever forgive you?"

"Oh, no, please forgive me, whatever will I do without your undying devotion!" Narcissa jested, twirling around me, her wonderful laugh echoing around the cave as we stood on the open top boat.

"How rude. I'm never talking to you again!" I announced, apparating myself to stand on the dock.

"Lazy witch!" Narcissa shouted, running down the steps of the boat and jumping off to join me.

"How are you so graceful?" I complained, watching an out of breath Narcissa pant as she caught up, "Wait... how are you tired from going down a flight of stairs?" I burst out laughing as it was Narcissa's turn to look cross.

"Witches don't tend to follow the Muggle tradition of 'exercising', Hermione." Narcissa rolled her eyes, and I realised she must have picked up the English translation of the word as there was a slight Greek accent to it.

"Ooh, sorry, she's touchy today." I smirked and Narcissa once more invaded my personal space. Refusing to step back, I watched as her eyes flickered down to my lips for a brief second.

"Are we going to stand here forever or are we going to go inside?" Narcissa asked, and her voice had taken a deeper tone I hadn't heard before. It was almost... husky.

"I'm perfectly happy standing here." I responded, my own voice low and, admittedly, flirtatious.

"Hmm..." Narcissa smirked and I realised after a second just how much self restraint it was taking me not to lean in and close the distance between us.

All of a sudden, I wore a smirk that rivalled Narcissa's as I discreetly twirled my wand and apparated myself to stand right in front of the doorway leading upstairs, "You coming, slowpoke?" I teased.

"How dare you call me that!" Narcissa admonished. A second later, there was a whoosh as Narcissa appeared at the top of the stairs.

"You can do Wandless Apparation!?" I questioned, looking up her in awe.

"Yes, because I'm superior to you, Miss Granger." Narcissa boasted with a grin. I realised she was actually quite proud. A week ago, that would have been to me a degrading comment about my blood status. Now, however, it was a gentle jest from a woman I realised I actually adored, and I took the stairs two at a time to catch up to her. Immediately, we were in the sun room, and Andromeda approached from our left. 

"You took your time," the brunette said with a frown, eyeing us as we giggled slightly like Hogwarts schoolgirls caught out after curfew. Before we had time to formulate an excuse, she continued rather stiffly, "I must get back to Teddy now," her face broke out into a tender, loving smile, "I hope I'm allowed back tomorrow morning?"

"Of course you are," Narcissa beamed, "Perhaps you could bring my little nephew along sometime?" her eyes shone with hope, and it warmed my heart.

Andy's eye twitched slightly, and I frowned at my best friend, "Yes that would be lovely. I'll see how he feels tomorrow."

"Yes, it's no rush." Narcissa nodded, looking slightly nervous.

"Goodnight, ladies."

"Goodnight." we beamed back at her and she took a portkey out of her pocket, the hairbrush apparating Andromeda back home.

"Dinner now?" Narcissa asked immediately, turning to me with an uncharacteristically happy grin.

"Sure. Shall we eat on the patio again?"

"No, let's go out," Narcissa responded, "Shall we get changed and meet in five?"

"Okay." I laughed slightly and watched for a moment as Narcissa strode across the sun room, past the pool and up the stairs to the second floor. Shaking my head, I went downstairs and saw that Sooky had lain out an outfit for me - tight, green tartan trousers, a short sleeved black turtleneck and a black blazer with black ankle boots. The fact that Narcissa had an outfit like that in her wardrobe honestly surprised me, and I wasn't too sure about it until I looked in the mirror - it did look good. I cast a few glamour charms to put makeup on my face and plait my hair, then headed upstairs to greet Narcissa. She arrived a few minutes after I did, dressed in a black jumpsuit with black heels. I realised we also had the same necklace on, a gold chain and a black pendant, and I wondered if Sooky had planned that.

"Ooh, we're matching." Narcissa grinned.

"It's just a coincidence, don't get ahead of yourself, witch." I smirked and strode past her to the front door.

"She's feisty tonight!" Narcissa commented with a smirk, following me out, "You do realise only I know where we're going?"

"Fine, hurry up then!" I responded, turning around and laughing as Narcissa rolled her eyes and strode forward, looking absolutely divine. We walked down the stone steps and a low dirt hill before reaching the centre of the village. Lights and laughter surrounded us as parties spilled out onto the streets and the happy, lively muggles blasted Greek music as we walked in happy silence. At one point I found my arm slipping into the crook of Narcissa's, and saw a blush creep up her neck, although I decided not to point it out.

"I have a reservation," Narcissa said politely to the tanned waiter that stood at the door of an open air restaurant, "It's under Black."

"Ahh, Miss Black, good to see you again. Follow me." he smiled graciously and we followed him through the loud restaurant onto a deck that stretched out over the sea. The sound of music filtered through from inside as we took a seat at one of the white-clothed tables and he handed us a menu.

"You must have been here many times, having lived here for 15 years." I commented, scanning the laminated piece of paper.

"Too many times to count on two hands," Narcissa responded with a gentle smile, "Although I can count on one finger the amount of times I've come here with someone else."

I looked up at that, "Oh?"

"Yes," she smiled sadly, her face becoming ever so slightly grave, "I had grown up trusting absolutely no one save for my family, and it ended up that I couldn't trust even them... then both the wars - they changed me. It's difficult, being so lonely," Narcissa sighed, "Opening up to people, even, is a task."

"Well, you're certainly doing well so far, even if under the influence of those drinks we had on the boat." I grinned.

"Thank you awfully for that meaningful compliment." she retorted sarcastically, laughing as she rolled her eyes. We ordered food and Narcissa recommended a wine that wasn't on the menu, but that when I asked for it, the waiter went to retrieve.

The evening passed quickly, the night filled with the sound of Narcissa's twinkling laughter and the lapping waves below. The waiter came to get the bill at the end, and before I had a chance to protest, Narcissa had already given him her credit card.

"You're such a muggle." I grinned, watching her, pure adoration in my eyes as she used the machine with practised ease. The waiter returned a minute later, and after some faffing around, the meal was paid for and we stood up to leave.

"Thank you for dining with us," the waiter smiled, "I hope to see you and your girlfr-" he glanced at my wedding ring, "Sorry, wife, again." the waiter nodded at me and disappeared back into the restaurant as we both turned bright red.

"Right, well-"

"We should-"

"Yeah, after you-" I held out my hand awkwardly, biting my lip as Narcissa made her way out of the restaurant. The parties were still in full swing throughout the village, and they offered a safe background noise to cover the silence we had descended into as we both blushed furiously. Once we left the village and began to climb up towards Narcissa's home, the silence became blindingly obvious.

"Here we are." Narcissa announced as she unlocked her front door. She walked further into the Sun room and stood looking up at the stars as I closed the front door. "There," she said after a moments silence in which I had come to stand beside her, pointing at the constellation, "Andromeda."

"Beautiful." I whispered, although I was not looking at the stars. The icy grey of her eyes shone bright in the moonlight and shadows danced across her sharp cheekbones as she turned to me and sighed. 

Involuntarily, I stepped forward. Narcissa opened her mouth to speak, but instead closed it again and merely watched me carefully. We stood like that for a while before the blonde reached out and took a strand of my hair in her hand and twisted it around her finger. Letting it go, it formed a lip curl on my chest. "I remember you. So long ago. Your hair was different."

"An astute observation, Ms Black," I smiled softly, "And I rediscovered the wonder of muggle hair styling products. They may not be as quick as magic but they're often much better for your hair."

"Whose the Muggle now, eh?" Narcissa joked, and I slapped her on the arm playfully as we laughed together. Then my hand stilled, and it stayed on her shoulder as breathing suddenly became rather difficult.

And Narcissa's lips looked very inviting. And she appeared to be closing the distance between us, her face unguarded. Open. Her breath tickled my lips as we became an inch away from kissing.

Then a loud crash echoed around the sun room and we jumped back from each other in surprise. Behind us, Pyxis was hanging his head shamefully as a wooden table leant haphazardly against a pillar and an expensive-looking vase lay smashed on the floor.

Sooky appeared with a pop, and after a deep bow towards us the mess was cleared up and Pyxis began to whine, wanting attention.

"I'll see you in the morning." Narcissa said, her face impassive, her tone slightly hurtful and her posture rigid as she spun on her heels and walked away.

"Well, that went well, didn't it?" I murmured, crouching and ruffling the ears of the fat, lazy dog with a sigh. "Come on, let's go to bed." I made my way to my room alone that night, her dog a surprisingly comfortable presence in the night despite my disappointment of the scene that had just unfolded keeping me awake until the early hours of the morning.

When I awoke, the sun had only just peaked over the edge of the horizon. I had not slept well, although that was not a concept that was foreign to me, and I yawned as I rolled out of bed.

"Shall we go for a walk, then?" I asked the dog, and his ears perked up slightly. As I didn't know where Narcissa kept Pyxis' leads, I transfigured a spare dressing gown cord into one and attached it to his collar, leading him out of the house having changed into joggers and an old top I had found stashed in the bottom of the wardrobe with a picture of the Weird Sister's on it.

The morning breeze was cool on my face, and Pyxis sported a happy grin as he trotted along beside me. We strolled all through the village and down by the beach, then headed back up and found ourselves sitting on a stone wall, overlooking the sea.

"Would you like to go and grab some breakfast?" asked a soft, English voice. I took a deep breath as the waves of gentle happiness at hearing her talk swirled through me.

"That would be lovely." I responded, taking Narcissa's arm in my own. She smiled pleasantly at the contact, and I might have been mistaken when I thought that perhaps there was a hint of relief on the blonde's face as I nodded my agreement. We ended up in a small coffee shop not far from her home and sat in a quiet spot in the corner, both enjoying pancakes and French toast with cups of tea. 

"I have never been a huge fan of coffee," Narcissa said absentmindedly, leaning back in her chair, "Perhaps in my younger days - I always enjoyed the taste. But the idea of being so dependant on something is rather unappealing."

"What do you mean?" I questioned, curious despite not being an avid drinker of the stuff myself.

"Well, 'Dromeda can hardly get through the day without at least fifteen thousand cups of coffee," Narcissa grinned fondly at the thought of her older sister, "Imagine if I was dependant on caffeine and found myself in the presence of important company such as yourself without any access to it? I would be dreadful! A social pariah!" the blonde exclaimed dramatically.

"Important company, you say?" I winked at her and she smirked.

"Don't go getting ahead of yourself Granger," she shook her head, and I noticed her accidental usage of my maiden name, "I have no friends other than you." she laughed.

"Well, you do have one." I smirked over my cup of tea and watched Arwin approach, a beam on his face. Narcissa groaned, then schooled her face into one of pleasure and surprise as the American loudly announced to the Greek man cleaning the bar he would pay for our meal. The man ignored him.

"That's not necessary, Arwin, honestly." Narcissa gave a strained smile, looking up at the silver fox.

"Please, it's my honour!" he spread his arms, puffing out his chest slightly.

"Actually, we've already paid." I commented, and Arwin turned to me as if only just noticing I was there.

"Oh. How... wonderful." he responded. Narcissa eyed me and we allowed the conversation to fall into an awkward silence in the hopes that the older man would take the hint.

He did not.

Instead of making conversation himself, Arwin instead just hovered there, beaming at Narcissa.

"Arwin, I... I must admit," Narcissa began, looking pained, "I do feel as if I may have led you on slightly."

His face fell. "Oh. How so?"

"Well, you see..." Narcissa laced our fingers together where my hand casually sat on the table, and my face fell with dread. I tried to pull my hand away but she clutched it tightly, unwilling to let me go so I could fit in with the plan she was forming. "Hermione and I... we're in love. She proposed last night, and I - well, I said yes."

"Oh." Arwin blinked, dumbfounded, perhaps shocked as he did not appear to have been rejected before, particularly not by someone who apparently favoured women. "Well... we could always have an arrangement?" Arwin suddenly looked hopeful, and his eyes became heated as he licked his thin lips.

"Right, we're leaving." I suddenly said, chucking a tip on the table. Letting my hand drop from Narcissa's, I instead allowed it to snake across her waist and down to cup her bum possessively in full view of Arwin.

"Hermion-" Narcissa began as we stepped outside and I handed her Pyxis' lead, speeding off in the direction of her house as she struggled to keep up, particularly with Pyxis resisting any movement after a long walk.

"I mean, how dare he!" I seethed, rounding on the blonde as we stood in the Sun room, a look of relief on Narcissa's face as she realised my rage was not directed at her, "What right does he think he has assuming because two women are together they would want to sleep with him? That's preposterous, backwards and homophobic! What a pig!" I stormed down to my bedroom and collapsed on the bed, staring at the ceiling in frustration at the utter idiocy of the man. All of a sudden, I realised Narcissa had not followed me to my room as my thoughts drifted to the blonde - how it felt to have her say such things, to entwine our fingers together. It was something that was so far fetched and ludicrous I knew I shouldn't entertain the thought of it, but I couldn't stop thinking back to how it felt to walk out of the café with her in my arms.


	5. Chapter 5

A gentle breeze ran through my hair as I slid open the floor to ceiling windows and smiled, admiring the view of the sun glinting off of the light blue sea after a long nap. 

There was a slight nudge on my leg, and I looked down to see Pyxis grinning up happily at me, his brown eyes sparkling. Then, he nudged me again and I began to frown as he pushed me left, towards the edge of the balcony. 

“What are you- Oh!” I gasped as he gave me one final push and I stumbled against the wall, steadying myself. My hands connected with a wooden ladder I hadn’t noticed before, pushed up against the wall beside the windows. My curiosity got the better of me, and I began to climb up as Pyxis barked happily and pattered back into my bedroom. Realising I was standing on the roof, I wondered why Pyxis had wanted me up here. A high stone wall stood in front of me with another ladder, and I climbed up it to reveal the glass roof of the sun room with a low wall around it. 

There was a trap door in a light blue shade ahead of me, and I wandered forward, stepping over low walls to reach it. The door creaked and groaned as I grimaced, wrenching it open. The sun became oppressive as I sat back with a sigh, squatting on my knees. A slight thrum of magic hummed in the air, something I hadn’t experienced since coming to Greece. Climbing down a ladder, I found myself in a dark room as the door slammed shut above me. Realising I had left my wand in my room, I fumbled around until I found a light switch. Turning it on, it revealed a large, sparse room complete with a small single bed, a wardrobe, and some empty shelves.

The hum of magic vibrated strongly around me, and I relished the feeling of magic working through my veins before I decided that this was absolutely nothing to do with me, and flicked off the light, leaving everything in the odd room as it was when I had arrived. 

Narcissa had not appeared at all since this morning, so I went for a swim in the Sun room before pulling on a pair of soft shorts alongside my bikini top and lounging by the pool, reading an old book I had found called ‘Proper Pureblood Values and Perfect Propriety’ by Wormwood Selwyn. The pages were yellowed, the book well worn, the cover torn and the neat words ‘Narcissa Black – 5th Year, Slytherin’ scratched onto the top corner of the very first page. The book was incredibly and disgustingly biased, boasting about wonderful Pureblood values were and the importance of beating submission into your house elves – although that was a page I decided to skip, for I couldn't quite stomach it. I supposed my S.P.E.W days were not quite behind me yet. 

As I skipped the page, there was a pop beside me and a worried looking Sooky appeared. 

“Is everything alright?” I questioned, frowning as the elf shook slightly. 

“Mistress Black appears to be… distressed.” He explained, his voice quivering slightly. 

“Right, is she upstairs?” Sooky nodded as I repeated his action myself, determinedly striding towards the staircase to discover what was going on. Another pop sounded, and Sooky had disappeared as I found myself on the second floor. As I headed down the long corridor towards Narcissa’s room, I began to hear music drifting towards me. Knocking on the door, there was no response, so I decided to ignore the rules of politeness and push the door open without permission. As soon as the door opened a crack, the muffled music I had previously heard blasted me in the face, so loud I visibly winced. Immediately, I pointed my wand at a slightly outdated 2003 wireless radio and turned to a sobbing Narcissa, who was curled up on the bed in a foetal position.

"Never pegged you for a Foo Fighters fan." I said, recognising the Muggle band as I closed the door. Narcissa merely whimpered in reply as I walked over to her, perching beside her on the edge of the bed. "Would you like me to leave?" I questioned, and there was a slight pause before she nodded her head. "Okay," I smiled gently, "But in all honesty I don't really want to just leave you here alone. How about I go and get you some hot chocolate and I'll come back and see if you've changed your mind?" Narcissa paused again, then thankfully nodded. Closing the door, I was relieved for a moment that the tactic I had used on every single one of Percy's children before had worked. Hot chocolate was like medicine for sad children, I had found. The moment of relief disappeared promptly, however, as I realised I had no idea where the kitchen was.

Walking down the stairs, I looked around, but every single door leading off of the Sun room led to a room I had already been to, so I knew they were not the room I wanted. Pulling out my wand, I decided to summon a fork. It came flying towards me - from a small cupboard I hadn't noticed before.

That woman and her cupboards. Rolling my eyes, I walked forward and opened the creaky wooden doors. A few random items of clothing were hung up and I pushed them to the side, revealing the wooden panel of the back of the wardrobe. Tapping it with my wand, it began to move like the rippling of a pond before disappearing altogether to reveal a set of stone steps. Climbing through, I descended the stairs and found myself in a surprisingly light, airy room. It continued with the theme of using the original stone of the hill to form walls, making the kitchen seem cave-like in it's appearance. The walls were white, and the countertops light wood, however all the cupboards and tables were traditionally Greek in design due to their turquoise colour. Shelves adorned the walls with brass pots and pans of every size and colour dangling down.

To my surprise, there was a significant amount of modernity in the kitchen, from the state of the art oven to the microwave and fridge-freezer. As I stood there, taking it all in, I heard a squeak and turned to see Sooky emerging from a tiny blue door that only came up to my knees, which I assumed led to his rooms. I hoped that was what it led to, as memories of Dobby, the first elf I had met, assuming he was meant to sleep on a blanket by the fireplace, came to mind.

"Misses Granger!" he exclaimed, looking surprised as a look of fear crossed his face, "Please, I do not want to be freed! I love my Mistress!"

"I'm not going to free you Sooky," I rolled my eyes, having dealt with many scared elves after the war that had heard the story of Dobby and definitely did not want to be freed, "I was wondering if you had some hot chocolate."

"I can make that for you, Misses." with the elf still looking wary, I opened my mouth to protest but he had already clicked his fingers and a steaming mug appeared on the table before me.

"Thank you."

"Mistress Black asks me to make this when she is sad." Sooky suddenly explained, having noted my surprise as the mug appeared - I had only come to the kitchen on an off chance, and had expected to need to go out to the shops.

"I see," I said, and my moment of pleasure from making something that might help Narcissa was immediately dampened as I thought of something else, "Wait - how often is that?"

"Well," Sooky looked suspiciously at me, "I suppose... once or twice a week I am making the chocolate hot."

"I see." I repeated, an odd sadness settling over me as I nodded my final thanks to the elf and retreated with the mug in hand.

"Thanfkss." Narcissa's muffled voice came from where she still lay on top of her bed covers as she sat up weakly and took the mug in her hands. I left her to go and open the windows, standing on the balcony to watch the sun set.

"Okay." I returned a while later, watching her place the mug on her bedside table, "Would you like to rant, get some advice, or would you like to sit in silence for a while?"

"Silence." Narcissa mumbled, and she finally lifted her head directly at me to reveal red-rimmed crystal eyes and a tear streaked, blotchy face. Then, to my surprise, she straightened out slightly and turned over. "Spoon me?"

"What?" I laughed slightly incredulously and she turned to blink at me, looking hurt. 

"I just really need human contact right now." Narcissa sounded vulnerable, and I realised I had no choice anyway as one look at her puppy dog eyes and I was done for.

"Come here, it's dark now so we're allowed to sleep, but let's do it properly." I helped her out of the bed and transfigured both of our clothes into pyjamas - I didn't bother with the silk rubbish she gave me, and as the temperature had dropped slightly, I gave myself a plain white vest top and grey joggers, and Narcissa the exact same - except slightly modified. 

"What are these yellow things?" the blonde asked in confusion, looking down and poking the decorations I had added to her clothes.

"Have you never watched Despicable Me?" I asked with a giggle, looking at the woman as she shook her head. She was the richest woman in Wizarding Britain, the previous owner of her own Manor and someone who had once been the coldest person I had ever met - and she stood before me in oversized Minion Pyjamas and fluffy pink socks, blinking tears away. Narcissa Black smiled softly, looking exhausted and sad and rather like a child, rubbing her eyes as she waited for me to finish cleansing her face with my wand. My heart broke ever so slightly. Fluffing up the pillows, I pulled back the covers and guided her into the bed, flicking off the lights and closing the curtains the Muggle way. Slipping in behind her, our bodies locked together in a warm embrace, I heard Narcissa mumble contentedly as she pulled my arm over her waist and held my hand gently. 

"Might as well do this every night now, seeing as we're 'engaged'." I joked, trying to resist the temptation of burying my nose in her soft hair.

"Yes, please." Narcissa responded, and I realised with a start that she was not joking in the slightest, and had taken me very seriously.

I slept well that night.

\--

When I awoke the next morning, the mug was gone, and there were two steaming cups of tea awaiting us as Narcissa slowly sat up in bed, squinting. I had discovered over these past few days that she really was not a morning person, and it humoured me slightly, as she was so perfect in so many other ways.

"You don't have to do that just because I'm here." I noted, watching Narcissa cast a glamour charm on herself with her wand.

"Oh. Okay." there was a slight, vulnerable smile on Narcissa's face as she removed it - it did not make much difference, as she was so wondrously gorgeous before and after the charm. We went downstairs and chilled by the pool not much later, "Ahh. You found my favourite childhood book." Narcissa said, her nose wrinkled in distaste as she laid down on one of the sun loungers and watched me pick up 'Proper Pureblood Values and Perfect Propriety'. 

"It's certainly... enlightening."

"That's one way to put it." the blonde responded wryly. She picked up a remote and pointed it at a small, black electrical box fixed to the wall. A moment later, the domed glass roof split into two and began to retreat into the roof, revealing the bright sun in it's full strength. It was not as warm as the previous few days, but we were still in shorts and bikini tops, and Narcissa was sunbathing. 

Half an hour passed, and we were just beginning to eat the bowls of fruit Sooky had made us for breakfast when, for the second time, there was a flapping of wings and an owl swooped down. It was large, and ever so slightly menacing, far bigger than any ministry bird I had ever seen.

The rather frightening bird landed deftly on my lounger, a damp red envelope in his beak.

"Oh, no -" I gasped.

"It's all right, I won't let him bite you," said Narcissa, retrieving her wand from her sleeve.

"It's not that - it's that." I pointed at the red envelope, staring at it in horror.

"What's the matter?" said Narcissa, unable to see from where she sat, the head of the large owl blocking the view of the envelope. I caught a glimpse of the writing on the front, and dread filled me from head to toe.

"He's - he's sent me a Howler," I said faintly.

"You'd better open it, then," said Narcissa in a timid whisper, suddenly looking grave, "It'll be worse if you don't. My mother sent me one once in my second year at Hogwarts, and I ignored it and" she gulped - "it was horrible."

My whole attention was fixed on the letter, which had begun to smoke at the corners.

"Open it," Narcissa urged. "It'll all be over in a few minutes -"

Stretching out a shaking hand, I eased the envelope from the bird's beak, and slit it open. Narcissa deftly placed her fingers in his ears. A split second later, I thought for a moment it had exploded; a roar of sound fiIled the Sun room, shaking dust from the ceiling.

"-LEAVING ME LIKE THIS, ALONE WITH SIX CHILDREN RUNNING AMOK, BUGGERING OFF TO BLOODY WHO KNOWS WHERE WITH MUGGLES OF ALL PEOPLE -" Ronald Weasleys yells, a hundred times louder than usual, made the bowls and forks rattle on the table, and echoed deafeningly off the stone walls. 

"- MY WIFE, YOU SHOULD BE SERVING ME, NOT OFF FROLICKING WITH MUGGLES -"

I had been wondering when this would come, as I knew my happiness could not last long, and I tried very hard to look as though I couldn't hear the voice that was making my eardrums throb.  
"-ABSOLUTELY DISGUSTED, YOU TREATING ME LIKE THIS, FORCING ME TO COOK AND CLEAN AND LOOK AFTER THOSE BLASTED CHILDREN! YOU MUST COME HOME THIS INSTANT HERMIONE GRANGER, OR I WILL COME AND DRAG YOU BACK TO THE BURROW MYSELF!"

A ringing silence fell. The red envelope, which had dropped from my hand, burst into flames and curled into ashes. The bird took flight once more.


	6. Chapter 6

"...OR I WILL COME AND DRAG YOU BACK TO THE BURROW MYSELF!"

A ringing silence fell. The red envelope, which had dropped from my hand, burst into flames and curled into ashes. The bird took flight once more.

I sat, stunned, as though a tidal wave had just passed over me. I had never received a Howler myself before, and my only experience with one in all my 32 years of living was when I was a child, and Ron himself had gotten one from his mother. 

Narcissa closed 'Voyages with Vampires' and stared at me for a moment. "Would you like to go out for a walk?" the woman asked, showing absolutely no sign of what had just occurred. There was a pop as Sooky appeared to clear away the pile of ash that had once been an envelope.

"That would be lovely." I responded quietly, and we did not talk about the tears threatening to fall from my eyes as we walked down to the beach, the wind stronger than usual today. We found ourselves walking past a Greek Muggle post office as I decided to write a reply to Ron.

"That's not the best idea right now. Maybe you should wait a while, clear your head." Narcissa advised, but I bought some paper and a pen from a nearby shop anyway and sat down on the beach with a huff to write the letter.

Ronald,

I will be coming home when I wish to come home.

You know as well as I do that you cannot control me, as much as you wish to reward yourself with that illusion. Do not attempt to come and find me - stay at home and care for Percy's children alone as I have been doing repeatedly since the accident.

Take care, 'Dearest'.

Hermione

 

Narcissa read over the letter, and deemed it not too damaging to send. As I had been doing it, she had been writing a letter to Andromeda, asking where the brunette had gone. Narcissa had been worrying about her ever since she had left, however still waited to reach out to her, as she was so afraid of driving her sister away.

We sent the letters by traditional, Muggle post. It would be sent to the Ministry by a magical liaison and forwarded by owl to the destination originally intended. The Muggle stamps would stay on the letter, and I smirked as I thought of the rage Ron would experience at seeing that.

We were walking down a quiet, cobblestone road with bright, white walls on either side as all of a sudden, the quiet was smashed as the sound of screeching tyres drew closer. A rusty, beat up, red truck rounded the corner and sped right into us, as I managed to push Narcissa out of the way and cast a cushioning charm on myself as the car smacked into me and threw me onto the bumper. 

The glass of the windscreen managed somehow to stay intact, and the passengers of the car were safely intact as they jumped out of the car and rushed towards me. Narcissa was screaming and crying hysterically as she ran forwards and shoved them out of the way.

"Hermione! Where does it hurt!" Narcissa asked, looking around wildly and realising there were too many people to get her wand out.

"I'm fine." I responded with a shrug, sitting up. "Cushioning charm." I whispered into her ear before sliding off the bumper as the Muggles looked on in shock. A moment later, my eyes were drawn to a young man and a girl. He was pointing his hand at the tyre of the truck, and a moment later it was fixed as the girl violently elbowed him in the ribs.

"Ow! Shit, what did you do that for?" he winced, and his eyes connected with me in the same moment. "Shit." he repeated.

"Obliviate them!" the girl hissed angrily, stamping her foot.

"Well, you both just absolutely fucked the statue of secretary." I called out, raising an eyebrow. The boy lowered his hand in relief, realising I was a witch, but the girl continued to stare suspiciously.

"Prove you're a witch."

"Fine." I rolled my eyes and a moment later I began to shrink rapidly, disappearing, in my place a Bowtruckle appearing. Narcissa looked down on the insect form of me in awe, a grin on her face.

"You're an animagus?" the blonde asked, both happy and surprised. Switching back to myself, I nodded, grinning. A moment later, Narcissa was gone, and a white cat was twirling itself between my legs.

"Impressive, Ms. Black." I grinned and the cat morphed back into the woman I knew and loved so well.

No, not loved - obviously not.

"Thank you kindly." she winked.

"Right, well now that that's cleared up..." I stepped towards Narcissa, "We're gonna, uh, go."

"Wait!" the wizard stepped forward, a tall, tanned, muscular Greek boy dressed in a dark grey vest top, cargo shorts and old flip flops.

"What?" I questioned, frowning, hoping the situation wouldn't turn hostile.

"You - there aren't a lot of magical folk on this island. In fact, there are barely any. We don't get many tourists either. I've never met an English witch! Please, I would love to know more about your culture!"

"Well... what do you want us to tell you?" I responded awkwardly as Narcissa laughed at me and the boy grinned brightly.

"Come! Come with us!" he was animated now, and for a reason unbeknownst to me I suddenly found myself sat in the back of the truck, with Narcissa's cat form on my lap as there were not enough seats for all of us. I couldn't help but stroke her as she curled up on me, and the sound of purring reached my ears as I scratched behind hers.

The truck finally pulled up in the middle of the village, on a road surrounded by white, red-roofed houses. We piled out, some of the Greek boys holding 6 packs of beer in their hands as we followed them through a round archway and up some steps into a large courtyard. They headed to one of the houses on the left, and the brown wooden door was unlocked as the wizard pushed it open to reveal a stone-walled living room, completely devoid of any furniture. The walls were plastered with graffiti and we navigated the rubble on the floor from the collapsed roof. It was not scary, nor was it dark, as the sun streamed in through large windows and the graffiti was surprisingly bright and colourful.  
In the back garden, the wizard waved his wand, summoning a tall, rickety old ladder. He pushed it up against the back of the house and, deciding to go along with it, we followed them up the ladder to the second floor.

"Steps are mouldy." one boy explained in a heavy Greek accent. We climbed through a broken window and found ourselves on an equally empty, dirty second floor. This time, there was an old metal staircase and we climbed up it to find ourselves on the roof.

Stone chimneys jutted out at odd angles from the floor, and we walked towards an already formed group of four or five boys laying against a slanted roof with cans of beer in their hands.

"By the way," the wizard grinned, "I am Ambrose." he held out a dry, sun-cracked hand and Narcissa and I shook it, with the girl eyeing us warily. He had floppy, long brown hair and a bright, cheeky smile, and the girl beside him was equally stunning, with a curvy, slim body, bright brown eyes and deep dimples.

She was the only girl there, save for Narcissa and I, and she sat the furthest away from us on the roof, in a deck chair with one arm possessively draped over Ambrose. They all appeared to be wizards, and would occasionally use wandless magic to summon a beer or, in one case, clean up a spillage.

"So how come you guys don't use wands?" I asked absentmindedly at one point, glancing around the group.

"We just don't." spoke up one guy with a shrug.

"We were raised without them. It's just kind of... an Eastern Greek thing." another boy said, poking at the small fire they had made with a stick. The sun was only just beginning it's descent, and the sky was still a brilliant blue, the sun beating down on us.

"Isn't magic so much more difficult to learn, at least?" I questioned, frowning.

"I guess so," Ambrose shrugged, "But we just... do it. It's part of the culture. Our ancestors didn't, our teachers didn't, our parents didn't."

"That's... interesting." I murmured, and I was zoned out for the next half an hour as I stared up at the sparse clouds and pondered a life raised with magic but no wand.

"Sorry about Thea," came a voice from my left, "She's a bit... touchy around women." 

"You don't say." Narcissa muttered wryly, having been on the receiving end of more than one of the girl's glares.

"I'm Eros," said the boy, and I turned to him now. He had long, bright blonde, beachy hair, large lips and bushy, dark blonde eyebrows, "Nice to meet ya."

"Hermione." I smiled.

"Ah! An English girl with a Greek name!" he beamed, "Hermione! People with this name have a deep inner need for quiet, and a desire to understand and analyze the world they live in, and to learn the deeper truth! Am I correct?" Eros' eyes shined as an empty beer can was thrown in his direction and Narcissa giggled.

"Stop talking shit, Eros!" Ambrose shouted with a laugh.

"I'm Narcissa." she introduced herself, a soft, happy glow on her face as Eros' eyes lit up.

"Narcissa! Another Greek name!" he grinned happily, "Perhaps it is fate, you two, no?" 

"Ah, I don't know." Narcissa blushed deeply and I was sure my face matched that colour. I noticed briefly that Thea was watching us carefully.

"Narcissa, the daffodil. Feminine form of 'Narcisse', which comes from the legend of the beautiful Greek youth who became enamoured of his own reflection." Eros announced.  
"Splendid." Narcissa rolled her eyes.

"However," Eros laughed, and I realised he was one of those wonderful people that found absolute joy in everything, people that seemed to radiate happiness, "The relation to daffodils also symbolizes rebirth and new beginnings, and they are a lucky emblem of future prosperity."

"Hmm. Splendid." I grinned cheekily and Narcissa swatted me on the arm as someone else entered the roof and I turned to look. A few whoops and cheers went around as a tall, lanky boy dressed in a red plaid shirt and oddly contrasting mustard-coloured tie appeared. He wore brown trousers despite the oppressive heat and seemed no older than his early twenties, with pale skin, defined cheekbones and a short crop of curly, dark blonde hair.

"Wassup, guys." said the boy. His English accent immediately showed through, alongside a noticeable lisp.

"Yo, Wellington!" Ambrose called out with a grin. He held out his hand and 'Wellington' stepped forward, producing a pouch of tobacco from his pocket along with a small plastic bag filled with something that strongly resembled weed.

"Do you know what that is?" I asked Narcissa with a smirk, watching Ambrose pull a packet of longs and some card for a roach from his pocket.

"Yes, actually," it was Narcissa's turn to smirk as she revelled in my shock, "I have lived in the Muggle world for 15 years. I may not know a lot of things but I'm not completely oblivious. It's 2013, get with the programme." Narcissa burst out laughing as I rolled my eyes and turned away from her, pouting.

"No need to be so sassy with me, Black." 

"Oh, shut up Hermione." Narcissa said, forgetting her ingrained pureblood politeness for a moment as she burst out into peals of laughter. It was a delightful sound, and I watched her with a grin for a moment as she giggled. 

"Think you can handle it?" Eros asked with a smirk, passing me the joint Ambrose had just rolled and smoked.

"I would have said it's her," I jerked my thumb at the blonde woman, "You would have needed to worry about, but apparently she's an expert."

"So my reputation really does precede me." Narcissa said haughtily, laughing as I elbowed her.

"Your turn," I passed her the joint after I had smoked it, "Narcissa Blaganja."

"That's genuinely the most awful nickname I have ever heard in my 43 years of living!" Narcissa exclaimed, tears threatening to fall from her eyes due to how much she was laughing.

"You're 43!?" they exclaimed, looking at Narcissa in shock.

"How old are you?" Ambrose questioned me.

"32." I responded with a shrug.

"I thought you guys were the same age!" Eros exclaimed.

"Pfft. Rude," I rolled my eyes, "She's bloody ancient. OW!" I rubbed my leg as Narcissa kicked me, "Vicious aren't you!"

"I'm not ancient!" Narcissa huffed.

"Alright, Grandma." I smirked.

"Hermione!" another kick, but I didn't feel the pain as I had collapsed with laugher, the rest of the group laughing too as Narcissa just rolled her eyes and sat back.

"At least I'm not a baby like you," she grumbled, "When were you born, again? 2002?"

"Ooooooh!" Eros laughed loudly, shaking his head.   
Leaning over and smacking the muscular boy, I gave him the finger, "I'm at least 10 years older than you, shut it."

"Alright Grandma." Eros burst out laughing as he repeated the words I had said only a minute ago. Narcissa leant over and gave him a high five after passing the joint along. The sun was beginning to streak colours across the sky, as the fire became bigger and brighter and the weed and many cans of beer began to kick in. 

"How's it going?" the Wellington boy appeared in front of us, crouching down to sit on low wall.

"Hermione." I nodded at him, introducing myself.

"Narcissa. Pleasure to meet you." 

"So, where are you guys from?" asked the well spoken, awkward boy.

"London." I responded, reverting to English.

"Wiltshire." Narcissa said.

"I'm a Kettering boy myself, Northampton," he said with a lopsided smile, "Not quite as posh as Wiltshire."

"You certainly sound posh." I smirked.

"No more than you," he grinned, "Can't say I'm posher than you, though, 'Narcissa'. I can just tell you're wealthy." Wellington laughed as Narcissa pretended to look affronted, flipping off the boy.

"Sure thing, 'Wellington'." she laughed.

"Call me Willy." he said, as Narcissa and I both burst out laughing.

"Sure thing, call me vagina." Narcissa snorted.  
"Ha ha, very funny," he said sarcastically, "You're English, unlike the Greeks who actually know that's a serious nickname and it's short for William!" he huffed.

"Your name is William Wellington?" Narcissa raised an eyebrow.

"Your name is Narcissa, mate." he bit back, pretending to chuck his beer at her.

"Whatever." Narcissa smirked and leant back in her rickety old deckchair, pushing her sunglasses onto her face as she took the joint from Eros and blew rings of smoke in the air. The look of pure sassiness on her face was hilarious but also utterly adorable, and I found my gaze often flicking to and from her as I sat beside her, our arms almost brushing.  
Before long, we decided to head home. We exchanged addresses with Ambrose, Willy and Eros, as to their surprise, neither Narcissa nor I owned a mobile phone. It was dark as we made our way back down to the courtyard and out onto the road. I had no idea where I was, but Narcissa knew where she was going, and we began to walk along the road, our only source of light the odd, flickering lamp post and the moon above. Feeling a slight chill, I shivered and Narcissa took my arm in hers, sharing our body heat as we walking in contemplative silence. 

Around ten minutes of walking went by quickly, as I relished in the warmth of her body beside mine. A dark silhouette appeared on the horizon, drawing closer and closer. It appeared just to be a Greek villager, and I felt I had no reason to be worried as I noticed he was walking directly towards us.

"Get down on the fucking ground!" hissed the silhouette, a gruff, scratchy voiced man, much closer than I had realised. A shiny, metal, black object was waved in our direction and I realised what it was immediately, as it began to dawn on me how serious this situation was. We lowered ourselves to the ground, and as my face pressed on cold concrete I felt Narcissa shifting beside me.

"Gimme yer money." the Greek man demanded. Wincing as the gun was shoved in my face, I dug around and found my purse, throwing it on the ground a few feet away.

"There. That's all we have." I said, expecting him to grab the purse and run away.

But he didn't. There was the sound of a belt unbuckling and I felt acid rising in my throat as I realised his intentions.

"Whatever happens, I want you to go straight home, okay?" I murmured as quietly as I could possibly manage.

"What are you-" Narcissa began.

"Promise?"

"Stupid Gryffind- yes, I promise." Narcissa sounded angry but agreed nonetheless. However, the look of pure shock she gave me when I suddenly stood up and charged at the   
overweight, greasy man was evident.

"RUN!" I screamed, tackling him to the ground. Narcissa sprinted left, into the dense undergrowth at the side of the road. There was a horrible sound of Narcissa's surprised shout as she began to tumble down the hill, but my thoughts were only with the man beneath me as I pinned him down and grappled with the gun in my hands.

There was a loud, piercing gunshot as I felt the spread of warmth across my abdomen. Another gunshot, louder than the first. Then the sickening crack of the gun smacking on my head. 

Silence. He was dead. Heaving, I retrieved my purse, realising that if the police turned up, I had no identification to offer them and had stupidly left my wand at Narcissa's. Making my decision, I began to sprint as fast as I could down the bending concrete road that steadily headed downwards and morphed into a smaller, dirt road.

At the end of the road, I found myself at the outskirts of the village and thanked the lords I knew roughly where I was. Half an hour had already passed since I left the man, and it took me another hour to navigate the village and climb the next hill over, where Narcissa's home stood like a fortified castle of soft, brown stone ready to welcome me.

"HERMIONE!" came a shrill scream, and there was a flying blur of fabric rushing towards me as Narcissa dragged me into her arms and began to place light, butterfly kisses all over my cheeks as she cupped them in her hands. I was flushed deep red, blushing heavily, but she did not appear to notice as she drew away and my blood had stained her shirt.

"Sorry. Sometimes I forget your clothes are more expensive than my whole house." I said, looking down at the stain on her shirt. Then there was a look of horror on Narcissa's face as she had opened her mouth to admonish me and I collapsed into her arms.


	7. Chapter 7

When I awoke, there was a slow, dull pounding in my head, and I found myself staring up at a stone ceiling.

"You're awake. Good," came an icy voice, "You're lucky I'm a trained healer." turning my head slightly, I saw that I was lying in Narcissa's bed and she was sat beside me in an arm chair. I realised at least a few days must have passed, as Narcissa looked almost as gaunt and frail as she had back in the war, as if the mask she had been wearing since I had arrived had finally slipped.

"How long was I out for?" I croaked, and Narcissa stood up to tilt a glass of water into my mouth as she frowned disapprovingly.

"Only six hours or so."

"Oh." I was surprised, and wondered how the happy image of Narcissa was able to fade so quickly.

"I owled for Andromeda. She claimed she's... busy." 

"I see." I shivered, wondering if something was going on back home. If Andy knew something had happened to me, she would have come running, surely? 

"Rest," she commanded, seeming almost hostile towards me as the glass was slammed back on the table and she strode out of the room, "Call Sooky if you need anything - not me." 

"Okay." I responded feebly, but the door was already shut. Lifting up the covers, I swallowed nervously as I dragged back the oversized shirt she had given me to reveal my stomach wrapped up in bandages. That was certainly going to scar.

I fell asleep once more, and when I awoke again the sun was setting, so I had been asleep for a long time. Groaning, I sat up as a sharp pain shot through my side.

"Lie back down." came a strong, irritated voice. Sighing, I did as Narcissa said.

"Why are you being so grumpy?" I finally complained, feeling as if I did not deserve this treatment.

"Why am I grumpy? Grumpy?" Narcissa rounded on me now, her voice laced with venom as I realised perhaps I should not have said that. She was seething, taking angry steps, pacing back and forth around the bedroom, the soft yellow lamp only highlighting her terrifying expression. "Hermione!" she turned to me, livid, "Don't you dare ever sacrifice yourself like that again! Do you hear me! Never!" her finger was in my face and she was shaking so much I felt the sudden urge to cry. Then I noticed a zig zag of light cuts across her face, highlighted with dried blood.

"You cut your face." I said sadly, reaching up to touch her soft cheek. I realised I was not quite in the right frame of mind, and that a potion Narcissa had given me seemed to be turning me slightly loopy.

"Yes," she said, and her expression was much softer now, "Yes, I did. It turns out gallivanting into a thick bush which happens to be a steep drop filled with brambles was not my brightest idea."

"I hope you're okay." I drawled, feeling completely spent after being awake for a mere five minutes.

"Rest." Narcissa murmured, adjusting my pillows slightly. Placing a soft kiss to my forehead, she gave a gentle smile and left the room. Not long after that, I was asleep again.

A few days passed. Narcissa awoke me every few hours, either to take me on a short walk around the house, something I found incredibly difficult, or to read me another letter Andromeda had sent. It was always the same, her going on about this and that and being busy. I had to admit - it hurt. Andy was my best friend, and I had been shot, but she still would not come to see me. I could tell that Narcissa was hurt too, but we moved past it, and before long I was almost back to normal thanks to Narcissa's exceptional healing skills. Had I been a muggle, despite it being a minor gunshot wound, I likely would have taken weeks or even months to heal.

"Let's dine in the sun room tonight." Narcissa said. It was our first meal together since I had been shot, as for the past few days I had eaten from a tray sitting up in bed. Narcissa did not stay with me, something I was glad of as it was ever so slightly embarrassing.

I was still wearing Narcissa's clothes, however this time she helped me pick outfits straight from her wardrobe. I had more or less moved into her room, as she refused to let me sleep alone for fear of something happening to me in the night. For our dinner, I picked out a loose, dark green jumpsuit. When I walked down the stairs and spotted Narcissa sat at the table Sooky had laid out for us, I found myself blushing before she had even seen me. She looked wonderful in high waisted black trousers and a white button up with three buttons undone, exposing the edge of a black lacy bra and the golden pendant necklace that matched mine.

"You look well." Narcissa said with a gentle smile. 

I wanted to scream and shout to the world how resplendent, ravishing and divine this woman looked tonight, but instead I simply smiled in return and said, "As do you, Cissa." I was not sure when I had started calling her that, but she had taken to calling me Mione and I revelled in how wonderful it felt to have that closeness with her.  
We ate the two plates of Greek food in relative silence, occasionally chatting about odd, unimportant things. When our plates disappeared and a bowl of grapes appeared in the middle to share, I sat back and took a sip of water, deciding to wade into more heavier topics than my intense dislike of Quidditch.

"I've been thinking," I began.

"That's rare." Narcissa smirked.

"Shush," I grinned, "I hated the idea of you going home and waiting for me. I know you mentioned yesterday about how horrible it was, not knowing if I had even survived. I felt so guilty and also thought how reassured I would have also felt if I had known you were alright. So," I placed a small, red, velvet box on the table and Narcissa simply quirked an eyebrow, not giving anything away, "I enchanted these. Back in the war, my friends and I used Galleons to set up meetings, with one master coin owned by Harry controlling them all. If he wanted to set up a meeting the small numerals around the Galleons would change into a date and time."

"I'm impressed." Narcissa said, looking genuinely surprised.

"There was also another design where you stuck them behind your ears with a charm and you could use them to communicate, almost like a Muggle mobile phone or radio. So I thought perhaps I could enchant these earrings so that we would be able to communicate, just us two. You twist the back of either earring twice and it opens the connection for you to be able to speak - this is more like a Muggle walkie talkie."

"Ah, yes," Narcissa seemed proud, "I've heard of those."

"Well done." I said sarcastically, grinning.

"This is wonderful, though. A wonderful idea," she mused, opening the box, "Good taste, too. Good enough for someone like me to wear," she winked, "But small and simple enough to go unnoticed. I like your style, Granger."

"Thank you kindly, Black."

"Whilst we're here," Narcissa popped a grape in her mouth, "I thought perhaps we should get some things in the open. Well, not things... everything."

"What do you mean?" I frowned.

"Hermione," Narcissa leant across the table, taking my hand in hers, "I do feel as though we've become very close this past week or so. I have found myself growing increasingly fond of you, and for some reason, count yourself as one of my dearest friends I've ever had - though, not that I have had many."

"I can think of one reason; I'm amazing." I snorted, using humour to cover up my disappointment. For some, stupid, idiotic reason I truly had believed she was about to confess that her feelings towards me were more than just friendly. Brushing aside my crushing disappointment, I took a grape and continued to listen.

"Therefore," she ignored me with a grin, "I trust you wholly, thoroughly and completely." Narcissa was glowing now, sounding more passionate with every word she spoke.

"Thanks." I said, because it appeared this woman made me unable to function.

"Well, I'll begin," she sighed, "I became an Animagus when I was 23. It allowed me to escape my husband when he was searching for me in the manor and I needed somewhere quick to hide. He was often... relentless in his pursuits. When he wanted something, he got it."

"Oh. So it's that kind of... share time."

"Yes, Hermione," her lips quirked up in a fond smile, "That kind of 'Share time'."

"Right, well then. I became an Animagus because my own husband Ron often doesn't take no for an answer when it comes to sex." I shrugged, acting as if sharing my biggest fear in life was no big deal. Narcissa looked shocked - but it was Narcissa, so her mouth didn't hang open, and she didn't spit out whatever liquid was in her mouth. She just raised an eyebrow and stayed silent. "Then around eight years after that I learnt how to have a second Animagus. It was a... brutal task," I shuddered, "But at that point I was in a very dark place and did not massively mind whether or not I survived."

"I see. What is your second Animagus?" she questioned. Pushing my chair back, I stood up, stretching my shoulders back. 

"I would say I identify with this one more. I'm sure you will be able to see why, although as it's my second Animgaus I literally can't transform without my wand, whereas with the Bowtruckle I can."

"Get on with it, then." Narcissa grinned, leaning lazily back in her seat to watch me. A moment later, both eyebrows were raised as the largest African Lioness she had ever seen padded over to her, an odd, human-like grin on it's face. "Well, well, well, not such a little Gryffindor now, are we?" Smirked the blonde, running a hand through my smooth fur. I switched back to my human form and laughed as her hand was running through my hair.

"Thanks for that." I snorted.

"Shush, you." she laughed, her cheeks flushed red.

"Another thing," I sighed and sat down, "I suppose I don't have to hide when I'm here." taking out my wand, I moved my hair to the side and pushed my sleeve up, tracing my wand down the length of my arm. Slowly but surely, the pure skin was replaced by a whole sleeve of tattoos covering my arm. Moving onto the next arm, I revealed the same thing.

"Hermione," Narcissa breathed, leaving her seat to kneel beside me and ghost her fingers over my left arm, "This is wonderful."

And it was. It was my favourite thing on my body by far, and I was slowly building it up as the years went by, without Ron ever noticing. It was only my left arm that was finished, and my right arm was almost done, although I did not plan to expand to any other areas of my body. On my left arm, the whole of the top of my shoulder was covered in an incredibly realistic, monochrome tattoo of Hogwarts. Despite the darkness that had shrouded it towards the end, I had had most of my happiest moments there. Then, across both arms, various painting-like tattoos of Roman statues which each carried their own meanings and reasoning’s behind them. Both arms were monochrome, however with small splashes of red from red Aster's -the flowers of my birth month, September. 

It was about me. No one else. It was art, on my body, because I liked it and enjoyed it. No one else was involved in the decision making or the reasoning. It was inherently me and often felt like the only thing that belonged to me, and I revelled in it.

"Any other body modifications you would like to reveal?" Narcissa said with a slightly giddy laugh, still admiring my tattoos.

"Yeah, go on then." I grinned, waving my wand to reveal a nose ring.

"That actually really suits you," she said, looking surprised, "All of it does."

"Thank you kindly, Black." I giggled.

"Anytime, Granger," she beamed, "And you don't have to cast the glamour again," she watched me reach for my wand, looking sheepish, "You look rather dashing."

"I might just keep it then." I smiled softly.

"Right, well..." Narcissa sighed now, the moment gone, "I suppose it's my turn to divulge something. Not that I don't want to tell you," she rambled slightly, something highly uncharacteristic of her, "It's just... rather surprising, and I'm afraid you might think very differently of me when I tell you."

"Narcissa," it was my turn to take her hand now, "I'm not going anywhere. Spill."

“Well,” she sat back in her chair, all of a sudden looking weary, “I suppose you’ve seen the pictures around the house.”

“Yes.” I responded, confused, remembering the pictures of her dotted in various rooms from different countries around the world. I was momentarily distracted as Pyxis came sniffing around for food and I ran a hand through his soft, golden hair.

“Yes, well, I was not as inactive in the years after the war as I may have portrayed.”

“Oh?” I frowned, leaning closer now, fully invested in the conversation.

“Have you heard of MI6?”

“Of course I have.” I said, frowning even deeper, shock washing over me as the realization dawned on me.

“I joined the Muggle Special Intelligence a few years after the war. I’m not sure what prompted me to do it – one would think I would want a life of quiet after all that happened. But, I was lonely and I became restless. I wanted nothing to do with Magical society and I wanted to actually be on the ‘right’ side for once.”

“You’re a wise woman, Narcissa Black.” I said with a soft smile.

“You’re not the first to say that.” she winked. “So, I went through all the processes and joined MI6. I won’t sit here and say that I was the best agent they ever had all on my own merit – I was good at what I did because I had the advantage of magic where Muggles didn’t. I trained without magic and I was fit enough and had the skills to be there, but I certainly used magic whenever and wherever I could.”

“Did you not get caught?” I questioned.

“Yes,” she shrugged, “But when I was caught they were obliviated and sent on their way.”

“What happened to being on the ‘right’ side?” I rolled my eyes, as Pyxis lumbered out of the room.

“I did what was necessary to survive, Hermione. Stopping the whole statue of secrecy and the Wizarding world from being exposed was much more harmful than making one, small, solitary Muggle forget why they had walked into the toilets.”

“Fair enough,” I sighed, “So what led to you leaving?”

“I got caught up in an investigation. It was and still is one of the highest profile cases in the world. Bigger than the Madeline McCann case, bigger than OJ Simpson, bigger than Ted Bundy. Bigger than Al Qaeda.”

“How?” my mouth was open in pure horror, a sickening feeling in my stomach.

“The group call themselves the ‘Emunctoria’s' - I suppose you wouldn't have heard of them, due to staying separated from the Muggle world.”

“The Cleansers.” I translated from Latin, trying to ignore the feeling of bile rising in my throat.

“Correct,” Narcissa said, and I could see the look of disgust easily on her grave face, “Since they became active in 2001, they have killed six thousand Muggles.”

“Six thousand.” I whispered hoarsely. A second passed as I emptied the contents of my stomach onto the floor, quickly vanishing it and cleaning my teeth with my wand a moment later.

“It doesn’t compare to the figures dying in wars across the sea, or the amount of deaths caused by groups like Al Qaeda. But the Muggles need justification – they always need justification. And they don’t have it here. The Emunctoria’s seem to have no motive. They do not play with the bodies, as is common with, for example, serial killers, and they leave no markings behind like a gang might. They slice the throat of every victim – then they leave. Their attacks are random with no possible correlation and… I heard through old contacts a few years back that they had been growing so rapidly in numbers they had now spread to France, and were continuing to move.”

“With a final destination in mind?” I questioned.

“It appears not.” She sighed. 

“How long did you work on it?”

“Years,” she laughed bitterly, “So many years. And I got so close,” her voice became strained, “So, so close to finding out who it was that ran this whole operation – who the mastermind was. Then, as you know,” Narcissa took a deep breath, “Tonks’ body was found. And I grieved heavily for the girl. We had reconnected long after the war without Andy actually knowing, and saw each other frequently. She would often come and visit me here under the guise of seeing Lupin’s grave. God knows she went to that place so many times she needed the break to see me.”

“I miss her too.” I whispered softly, a lump in my throat as I remembered my dear friend, who was almost killed in the war before her husband, Remus, jumped in front of the killing curse. “We all do. Harry especially.”

“After Tonks’ death, I returned to work, but they had hired someone in my absence. A man named ‘Llewelyn’. He was quite easily the coldest, cruellest and most charming man I had and have ever encountered. Everyone was infatuated with him. Files began to go missing, files on the Emunctorias. Then, Llewelyn was sent on a mission. It went wrong, and I was sent to retrieve him. The mission failed and he was killed. Died in my arms,” Narcissa sighed bitterly, “I can’t say I was sad to see him go. His last words were ‘It should have been you, Narcissa.’ Which was absolutely lovely.”

“Sounds lovely.” I responded.

“Indeed. After that, the attacks began.”

“Attacks?” I questioned, swallowing.

“Yes. Magical attacks. I would be walking down the street in broad daylight and would be cornered by two or three witches or wizards. Always dressed in grey. And they all looked the same.”

“In what way?”

“It was always the same two people. A tall, muscular man with an unassuming face, not attractive nor unattractive. Greyish brown hair, brown eyes. A slightly shorter, slim, light skinned woman. Brown hair, always in a ponytail. Attractive, brown mole on her cheek. If there were two men and one woman attacking me, both men would look exactly the same. If there were two women, the women would look the same.”

“Polyjuice potion?” I questioned.

“I’m not sure,” she furrowed her brows in thought, “It seemed more like some sort of magical mask that changes your voice, too. Whatever it was, it was frightening, and the attacks did not relent. They got more frequent, and more violent. It went from broad daylight attacks to breaking into my London flat at three in the morning and dragging me out of bed, trying to kill me. I was attacked at work, at home, on missions, in Starbucks.”

“Why, though? Was it something to do with Llewelyn?”

“I suspect so,” Narcissa responded, “Strongly suspect. And I believe it was linked to the Emunctoria’s. I got too close and they likely suspected me of being responsible for his death, too. Everyone else at MI6 was blind to it. It was like they didn’t care about truly getting to the source of the problem. I don’t know. I really don’t. I just knew I needed to get away. So I handed in my notice, packed everything up and left, obliviating the most revealing memories of those that got close to me, so that I was only a vague memory in their mind. I had to make many friends forget about me.”

“I’m so sorry, Narcissa. I truly am. Is that why you, uh, haven’t made many friends here?”

“Yes,” She said simply, “That and an apparent inability of getting close to people.” She smiled wryly.

"Well, I'm here." I grinned.

"That you are." she smiled back. "And now you're back to full health I really do have to apologise for the other night. I'm an ex-MI6 agent, I've fought in a war, I've housed death eaters. I've been in far more dangerous situations than that, but... when he started undoing his belt..." fear shrouded over Narcissa's eyes as she began to recall some likely unpleasant memories.

"Narcissa," I took her hand gently grounding her back to reality, "You're here. I'm here, as I just said," I smiled, "Whatever happened in the past is done now. All you can do is try to move on."

"I know," she sighed, "I know. Sorry, this dinner took rather a dark turn. I just didn't see the point of hiding my past from you - I know now that I can trust you."

"You can. And I know that I can trust you. Honestly, my past isn't very exciting. Ron and I married straight after the war. He desperately wanted children, especially as all of his siblings had popped out child after child, just like his parents, and we - well, Ron - was the only one that wanted the family home. We actually lived with Molly and Arthur for ten or so years."

"Gosh. That sounds awfully boring." Narcissa snorted ungracefully.

"It truly was. I presume you know them well?"

"I do indeed," To my surprise, Narcissa gave a fond smile, "We went to school together. They were the king and queen of Gryffindor, Lucius and I the king and queen of Slytherin, as the school named us, although the nicknames only caught on in our older years at Hogwarts. Everyone perceived the rivalry to be a bitter feud, but in actual fact, all four of us found it quite amusing. I remember throwing planned curses in the hallways at the couple, then sneaking out for double dates in Hogsmeade through a secret passage out of the castle."

"That... surprises me." I said earnestly. As far as I knew, the Weasleys did and always had hated the Malfoys.

"Honestly, looking back on it, it surprises me too." 

\--

The next morning, we slept in and awoke around 9. After breakfast by the pool, Narcissa spent a few hours teaching me wandless apparation, as she had promised a few days prior but I was too weak to start. 

"Shall we grab some lunch?" Narcissa suddenly asked, standing tall, proud and casual in front of me in the Sun room, her wand dangling from her fingers.

"Sure," I croaked, laying sweaty and exhausted on one of the sun loungers, "Just give me a minute." Narcissa began to tap her sandals impatiently on the floor, looking hungry, so I finally rolled my eyes at the haughty woman and swung my legs around, dragging myself off of the sun bed. "Impatient much?" I grumbled, and she ignored me as we went through an archway and we headed down some stone steps.

Narcissa's idea of 'Grabbing lunch' was her taking us out on the yacht, so we sailed out into the open sea, which was thankfully calm today, and had a simple spread of various sandwiches made by Sooky, who had joined us on the boat.

We both had books in our laps, mine magical and Narcissa's muggle, and had paused to have a conversation about Vampires, which was the subject of my book, when I noticed a boat on the horizon. It gave me an uncomfortable, uneasy feeling and I turned to Narcissa. She had noticed it too, and due to her animagus she could see much further than me.  
"I'm not sure if I'm being paranoid or not, due to our conversation last night, but I do feel as though that boat is watching us, Hermione." Narcissa said wryly.

"I'm inclined to agree with you. Shall we head back?" I asked with a frown.

"Lets." she said. We went up to the second deck and Narcissa steered us back to the island. As we drew closer, I turned to the elf.

"Sooky, is there any way you could disguise us without it being noticeable?" I questioned, knowing how strong Elvish magic was.

"I could make it so that the sun will glint off the boat if someone looks at it. A modified Confundus charm, if you like, Misses Granger." Said Sooky.

"Perfect, thank you." I nodded as he clicked his fingers and a few minutes later, the boat was heading through the wall.

That night, as we lay next to each other in bed, I stared up at the ceiling and realised that I couldn't hide forever. I needed to go home. This wouldn't last, and I might a well be an adult and accept it. "I think I'll go home tomorrow." I said into the dark room, unable to disguise the thick sadness in my voice.

"Oh." Narcissa responded after a prolonged moment of silence. Her voice was indistinguishable, but I felt her body stiffening beside me.

"I wish I didn't have to. But I must."

"I see."

"I've had a wonderful time here," I said feebly, "Thank you for being so hospitable." 

"You're welcome here any time, Mione. You know that." Narcissa responded, her voice breaking as she rolled over so her back was to me, sniffing slightly.

"I shall miss you an incredible amount, Cissa." I said with a sigh, wrapping an arm around her slim waist, pulling her into me. My face buried into her neck and she let out a deep breath, relaxing into my arms.

"This isn't goodbye, silly girl. Don't be so melodramatic."

Ten minutes or so passed. I thought she had fallen asleep until she spoke up once more. "I really... I really enjoy your company. Perhaps more than anyone I have ever met before." Narcissa muttered, the note of vulnerability strong in her gentle, fragile voice.

I paused, letting her words sink in, wondering if perhaps there was possible any place in the world I could ever be happier than this. 

I decided there wasn't.

"Go to sleep, Cissa. I will still be here when you wake up. I will still be an owl away. I will still pop in uninvited and use your pool and see your dog. I will still force you to go and get brunch with me at that little café. I will still steal all of your clothes. You haven't got rid of me. Not yet."

\--

She was cold when I left. Closed off. I was hurt, but I also knew her - perhaps better than anyone, and it was her only coping mechanism. So I placed a soft kiss on the cheek of the blonde as I hugged her and took the suitcase she had packed with the clothes she forced me to take 'To update my shabby housewife wardrobe' and left the Greek villa behind.

The Burrow was perhaps more miserable and depressing than I had ever seen it before. The old, run down, semi-circle shaped garage Arthur had built so long ago for his car now sat with the roof sunken in. Rubbish floated in the pond beside the house, and the sky above was a miserable, brooding grey. The time difference was only two hours behind, so the sun had not yet set. 

A harsh, uninviting wind whipped around me as I stood, shivering, on my own front door, almost afraid of what lay ahead. The house creaked and almost seemed to sway as I pushed open the door, squinting, half expecting Ron to sprint forward and push me back out, slamming the door on my face.

But as I shut the wood behind me, there was nothing. I had expected mess, clutter and disorder - unwashed dishes, clothes strewn about, spillages left to fester. But instead the house seemed almost exactly as I had left it - except there were cobwebs in the ceiling corners, dust on the counters, with the lights off and seemingly the heating too, as I felt no warmer being inside.

Where was Ron? I presumed the kids would have gone back with Percy by now, but my husband should have been here. I had been building myself up to facing this moment for so long, I almost felt disappointed that it was not over and done with. I realised I was utterly terrified to see that man once more, and this only served to prolong my suffering.  
After a quick search of the house, I concluded that it was empty, therefore decided to go and see Andy. I had missed her deeply, and despite understanding why Narcissa would not seek her out herself I had no such reason not to and decided there was no time like the present to pop round.

"Hello?" I called out, the door to the modest cottage opening slowly. Warm air greeted me gently as I closed the door behind me and stepped into the living room, my surroundings lit by a soft yellow glow coming from a tall lamp in the corner. "Hello?" I repeated, and there were footsteps approaching me as I turned towards the kitchen door.

"Hi there!" Came an oddly cheerful voice, and I found myself face to face with a short, blonde, smiley young woman.

"Um... is Andromeda here?" I asked awkwardly, having no idea who she was.

"Oh! She's just gone out, I'm afraid. I'm the baby sitter, Emma!" she said with a gratingly high-pitched voice.

"Right, well... nice to meet you. I'm gonna g- yeah, I'm gonna go." I nodded at her then spun on my heels, leaving the house and apparating home.

\--

The next day, I awoke in the morning to a strange sound. It was someone - more specifically, a woman, and she was not the greatest singer, but she seemed to be singing absentmindedly, as if she was doing something else at the same time.

I pondered for a moment on what it was. Perhaps I was going crazy? 

Then I realised - I was still wearing the earrings that matched the ones I had given Narcissa. It was her.

And, Merlin, she was bad at singing.

I could have taken the earrings off. But I didn't. A week passed, and her voice faded in and out of existence. I took it with me everywhere I went like I was listening through a pair of headphones. It didn't feel like spying or eavesdropping as, as sad as it was, Narcissa did not actually talk to anyone. Although, occasionally she would drop something, and I would hear the adorable and rare sound of Narcissa Black herself cursing Merlin's beard.

Another few days passed, and Ron still did not return home, prompting me to wish I had just stayed with Narcissa in the first place. Then a knock on the door sounded, and I smiled as the familiar silhouette of an old friend appeared in the glazed window of the door.

"Hello, Aurora Hooch, my dearest friend, how lovely to see you again." I said sarcastically, laughing at the grumpy, dark skinned woman stood in my doorway.

"I hate your house," muttered the daughter of my ex Hogwarts flying instructor, "It's so miserable." 

"Well, thanks very much, Aurora." I responded, rolling my eyes as she pushed past me and made her way to the kitchen, filling two cups with tea.

"Back on full name basis, are we Mione?" she winked.

"Well you haven't been 'round for years, Rory!" I complained, frustrated after having been cooped up inside alone for a week now.

"The metaphorical phone goes two ways, Hermione Granger." she waggled her finger at me and I sighed.

"Yeah. I know. Sorry."

"Don't be," she smiled, "You look different. A little bit happier. Tanned, too. Holiday? With Ronaldo?" she grinned.

"No, and don't call him that, it pisses him off," I laughed slightly, "And, well, yes, actually. I went on holiday. Greece. But not with him."

"Trouble in paradise?" the metamorphmagi wiggled her eyebrows and changed her hair to a bright shade of orange, presumably to match my husband.

"You were at the wedding," I snorted, "Paradise was never there to begin with."

"Aww, come on, 'Mione. Don't be like that." Rory's hair morphed back to it's natural dark, lush brown and she rubbed my arm comfortingly.

"I've been thinking about filing for a divorce." I said earnestly, finally speaking the words out loud.

"Finally," she grinned before softening her voice, "Just be careful, okay? Make sure you stay safe. Be clever about this. Like me." the Ravenclaw winked and I playfully slapped her away, picking up my tea.

Then there was another knock at the door. This time, I knew who it was. Closing my eyes, I steeled myself.

"That's him?" she questioned, and I nodded. "Bloody hell, 'Mione," I opened my eyes and the woman looked close to tears, "I know it's been a year or two since we've seen each other, but... you look absolutely terrified. Does he - does he hurt you?" she looked pained as she asked, and I flinched at her words, telling her all she needed to know. "I'm staying the night." Rory decided, striding over to the front door. She flung it open, her face angry now as she prepared herself to face my husband.

But it wasn't him. It was the very last person I expected to see.

"Narcissa bloody Malfoy!?" Rory exclaimed, looking shocked. 

"May I enter?" she said icily, and Rory stepped back to allow her in, safe from the miserable storm outside. Standing in the living room of the Burrow was the woman I had not seen for 15 years, dressed in expensive, emerald green robes with her hair in a tight, impeccable bun and flawless, polished makeup on her tired-looking face.

"Alright?" I said feebly.

"I'm not sure what's going on," Rory began, "But I, for one, could use a drink." Still knowing exactly where to find what she needed, Rory summoned a bottle of whiskey and three glasses.

Striding forward, Narcissa towered over the defiant brunette, "It's Black now." She said imperiously, reaching for the bottle of whiskey. Rory actually looked scared for a moment as the lid was unscrewed and flicked off with a perfectly manicured nail. Rory's jaw dropped and I was sure mine did too although I couldn't really focus on anything except Narcissa as she threw her head back and took a large gulp of whiskey straight from the bottle.

"Well, that's..." Rory trailed off, blinking.

"Oh, stop looking at me like that," Narcissa's fiery eyes were focused on me now, and I shivered, "It's unbecoming."

Rory poured a glass of whiskey for me and herself but decided not to pour one for Narcissa as we found ourselves sat around the coffee table in my living room.

"Narcissa, this is Aurora Hooch, Aurora, as you seem to know, this is Narcissa Black."

"Nice to meet you," she said cheerfully, "Call me Rory. What?" Rory laughed, "Why do you look so surprised?"

"Well..." Narcissa paused to gather her thoughts, "I suppose I wasn't expecting you to be so... I don't know. Inviting."

"Inviting?" Rory laughed again, "Granted, you get a lot of shit in the press, to this day. But the war was 15 years ago. And I didn't even fight in it, I was at Beauxbatons avoiding my Mummy issues and living, I don't know, a normal childhood." Rory eyed me and I rolled my eyes.

"We wouldn't have won the war otherwise." I mumbled.

"You were still a child," she sighed, "You shouldn't have had to fight."

"So," I turned to Narcissa, deciding to change the subject, "Why are you actually here?"

"Um..." the blonde was uncharacteristically shy as she blushed, her eyes flickering back and forth from me to Rory, "I'm not entirely sure."

"Ohhh..." Rory suddenly looked shocked, as if some sort of realization had dawned on her. "You guys... you guys are, like, a thing?" she looked baffled, and much younger than 35 as she sat back in her seat, her apparent revelation washing over her in waves.

"Woah!" I exclaimed.

"No!" Narcissa insisted.

"No way!"

"Excuse me?" Narcissa looked offended, turning to me.

"What?" I frowned.

"What do you mean no way?" she huffed, "I'm from the Noble House of Black, I'll have you know! Many men would fall at their feet to court me!" 

"Right, good for you," I snorted, "But there's no way... me and you - definitely not."

"Why not?" Narcissa pouted.

"Uhh, I don't know. Well, you wouldn't ever be attracted to me." I insisted.

"And what if I was?" Narcissa folded her arms petulantly, offended. I suddenly noticed Rory had disappeared and was now standing in the open plan kitchen, lifting the bottle of whiskey to her lips.

"Well, I- I-" I stuttered, flushing red. All of a sudden, Narcissa realised what she had just been saying. Her face went such a deep shade of pure red I thought she might possibly explode, and found myself edging backwards slightly.

"I'll owl you, yeah?" Rory said awkwardly, hovering above us.

"Right, yes, yeah, sure." I responded, still shell-shocked as the door shut behind her and Narcissa and I were left in the silence of the living room. Pointing my wand at the fire, I lit it wordlessly and embraced the warmth it emanated - I had taken the Greek sun for granted, that was for sure.

"I miss you, Mione," Narcissa said all of a sudden, her arms wrapped around herself in a self-comforting gesture, "I realised quite quickly I had gotten used to having a warm body in bed with me. Someone to talk to. You, to talk to."

"I miss you too." I whispered, and it was the truth. I missed her dearly, like a bookmark missed its favourite pages or the sea missed the shore. Many sleepless nights had left me laying in my bed, staring at the ceiling, thinking only of blonde hair, icy grey eyes and the dazzling Greek sun. Perhaps, like Icarus, I had flown too close.

"Won't you come back?" Narcissa pleaded, and I saw now there were tears in her eyes.

"No," I said, trying to sound definite as my voice cracked under the immense pressure of my sadness, "No."

"Why?" she was crying now, and I scooped her into my arms, soothing her like one might a baby, stroking her hair and placing light, gentle kisses upon her forehead.

"Because I'm waiting for my husband to come home." I sighed, the thought of his inevitable presence weighing heavily down upon me.

"He wasn't here when you arrived?" she frowned, looking up. 

"No, he wasn't." I began to curse myself as tears collected in my eyes - however, I could not help myself but lean into Narcissa's touch as she gently reached up and wiped a stray tear from my eyes. 

"Mione-" she began, but I cut her off.

"Stay tonight?" I questioned, "I honestly haven't slept since I left."

"Of course." she whispered. It was late, and the stairway was dark as I led her to one of the spare rooms on the top floor - it was the room I had stayed in when I was so much younger, and the war had only really just begun. This room was not as cosy as it had been so long ago. It was now stripped bare and contained only a plain double bed with a white sheet, alongside an empty wardrobe and chest of drawers. Lighting the candles around the room, I cast a charm to warm us as I closed the door.

"I don't have any clothes for you," I apologised, "Would you like to transfigure something for you to wear to bed?" 

"No, it's fine," Narcissa brushed me off, "We're both women. I'll just sleep in my underwear." I blinked, and realised she was not joking as her robes were sent flying to hang on the hook of the door and her dress followed. She wore high waisted, fashionable, plain black pants with a matching black bra, and my eyes couldn't help but admire her figure - her toned legs, defined abs and bronzed, glowing skin. 

When my eyes met Narcissa's, they were staring back at me with a fierce intensity, and I found my breathing become laboured as I took a tentative step towards her, one hand steading myself on the bedpost. Narcissa mirrored my action, and we found ourselves so close our bodies were almost flush against each other.

My hands became a mind of their own as one was placed gently on her hip and the other traced up from her stomach to her neck, grazing her skin to land on her shoulder. Pulling her closer, her lips were almost on mine as I used my hand to turn her head.

"Are you sure you want this?" I whispered, my voice low and dangerous.

"Yes." Narcissa murmured in response, her head tilted back slightly and her eyes closed as I took that as permission and started kissing her neck - slowly, lightly, then harder. Enough to leave a mark. The blonde moaned at the pain and I bit back a grin as my harsh kisses marked a trail all the way down her body. "Bed. Now." she hissed, her legs shaking. Before I had time to react, I found myself being pushed down onto the bed, the springs creaking beneath us as I lay down and she straddled my hips, her eyes so focused yet so hazy I thought they might truly be on fire.

Grabbing her hips, I pulled her down towards me and took one of her nipples in my mouth, swirling my tongue as Narcissa let out a giggle of delight. A moment later, it was a yelp as I flipped our positions and grinned victoriously, my breathing laboured as I adjusted myself carefully so that I was instead kneeling between her thighs. Slowly, carefully, I hooked two fingers onto her pants and pulled the fabric down her legs, throwing the underwear on the floor.

"You're so wet, Cissa," I took a deep breath, spreading her thighs as my heart beat with excitement. Narcissa was writhing beneath me, so worked up I thought she might orgasm right there and then. "Not yet, baby, I haven't started yet." I smirked and she let out a gasp, her head dropping back on the bed as she shivered with pleasure. 

The orgasm she had after I had eaten her out was so strong, her body convulsed and jets of red light burst out, her eyes closed as a golden haze filled the room and a glow seemed to emit from both of our bodies. I realised with utter shock that I, too, had orgasmed just purely from watching her, and I couldn't help but want to touch her again as I leant down and peppered gentle butterfly kisses all over her body.

Narcissa Black truly was carved by the Gods.


	8. Chapter 8

Three weeks passed with no sign of the blonde. When I awoke she was gone - I had not expected anything less, however the feeling of pain that lodged itself in my throat was almost unbearable and still had not gone away.

Then, an owl arrived. It was large and rather dopey, an odd orange-ish colour with a tuft of spiky blonde hair on its head.

 

Hermione,

The Ministry Ball. You promised.

Narcissa.

 

The bird shook its feathers and took flight without giving me a chance to feed it, let alone send a reply.

She was right. I had promised. But I was not sure I could handle seeing her again. The three weeks without her had been truly miserable. Only a few days later, Ron had returned, however he did not get angry like I had expected. He did not raise his hand to me, nor swear, nor slam doors or fists into walls or throw plates and bowls. Instead, he did not speak a word to me. He ate after leaving for work and before coming home from his work. We didn't share a bed, and on the weekends he didn't come home at all.

For some reason, that hurt even more.  
\--  
Twilfitt and Tatting's was more or less empty, the large, oak panelled store looking more like the entrance-way to an English manor than a Diagon Alley clothing supplier. I had not been here for years, having always favoured the far less snobby Madame Malkin's, but I needed a dress for the ministry ball.

A dress for Narcissa.

Narcissa. We had not been in contact since her owl - I had not replied. 

A week passed, and the ball rolled around before I knew it. Rory arrived at 6 o'clock, armed with a garment bag, her wand and a look of determination on her voice.

"Come on, to the bathroom!" she announced, striding in, her hair a vibrant shade of purple, "We're sorting whatever this," she gestured to my face, "Is."

"How charming." Rolling my eyes, I followed the dark-skinned woman into the bathroom. Half an hour passed as I sat impatiently and she cast a multitude of spells on me, occasionally resorting to the odd dash of Muggle makeup.

"There. Done." she sighed, placing her wand down, which she had used as a curling iron to curl my hair. Merely a moment later, her own face had makeup on and her hair was a large, dark afro, her natural hair.

"I wish I could get ready that easily." I grumbled, still in pain after her heavy plucking of my eyebrows.

"If you knew what it took to look after these curls," she grinned, pointing to her afro, "You wouldn't say that. Now get changed, I'll come back in five when I'm ready."

Reaching for my own garment bag, which had been hung up on my bath rail for a week, I unzipped it to reveal a dark green, silk gown. It had a split up the side, and a deep v neck with spaghetti straps. As soon as I had seen it I had fallen in love, having recalled the conversation where Narcissa made me promise to wear green.

She was right, I thought as I pulled on the dress, the colour looked lovely on me.

Rory tugged the door open just as I was leaving, and we both examined each other in surprise. Rory wore a shimmering, silver, crystallized dress with similar thin straps and high silver heels, expensive looking silver earrings dangling from her ears.

"Damn, you look seriously hot, Rory." I grinned.

"You look fucking insaneeee, Mione!" the woman twirled me around, giggling. 

"Ron, are you ready to go?" I called up the stairs, the animosity between my husband and I still going strong. He looked dashing in his black and white dress robes, the white bow tight on his neck, the midnight robes reaching the ground - however, there was a soft yet dangerous look on his face, and I felt myself swallowing my fear as Ron threw a handful of Floo powder into the fireplace.

I was the last to go. With a sigh, I stepped forward, shouting "Vane Manor!" into the fire.

The Vane ballroom was splendid, however - it lacked the true opulence of places such as Malfoy Manor, and felt almost more suitable for a Muggle wedding reception venue than the most talked about ball in Wizarding Britain. The large, white, rectangular ballroom was packed with people, a lot whom I recognised as I stood at the top of the staircase. A Herald stepped forwards, but he did not ask for our names as he recognised us immediately.

"Mister and Misses Ronald Weasley!" ignoring the rather sexist introduction and the turning of heads as we were announced, I descended the steps with Ron on my arm, his grip uncomfortably tight. 

"Misses Aurora Hooch!" Rory soon arrived beside us. I had not expected Ron to let me leave his side after I had disappeared to Greece, but as soon as Rory arrived he turned and left, the dangerous look in his eyes still not having faded.

"I'll get us some drinks." I mumbled, unable to get that look out of my head as Rory nodded her agreement. I felt an odd pull behind me, and I was just about to turn around when I heard someone appear.

"Fancy seeing you here." said a silky voice, a warm hand coming to rest on my back as I finally located a waiter and took two glasses of champagne. Kissing the air either side of Narcissa, I moved away far enough so that she withdrew her hand from my back.

"Hello, Narcissa." I gave her a guarded smile. She wore a long, golden dress with a low v neckline and high golden heels. Narcissa always looked incredible, but there was something about her tonight that made me feel a strong urge to be close to her. I was not a child anymore, and I faced her directly, intending to get to the bottom of things, “What happened the other night?”

“Mione,” she signed, her eyes downcast, the fake smile she had been using suddenly gone, “I – I can’t…”

“Why not?” I asked simply, “I’m not going to pressure you. I won’t force you into anything. I just, very simply, would like to know what your reasons were for leaving. I do believe I deserve that much.” Across the ballroom, my eyes connected with Rory and she gave me a soft, understanding smile before drifting off elsewhere.

“I…” Narcissa paused, realising she had no valid reason to leave that night. It was odd – I felt almost like I could feel the sadness radiating off of her, and I wanted desperately to heal it.

“You’re afraid,” I began, sighing, “I know that. I am too. And we certainly took things far too fast and I appreciate it was a mistake. But we weren’t that drunk. Yes, the only reason it escalated was because we were drunk. But it wouldn’t have happened if we didn’t have some sort of attraction to each other in the first place, and if you’re going to accept something, accept that.”

“I know. I know that. It’s just… I haven’t been this vulnerable in front of someone in a long time and it… it takes some getting used to. I’m sorry.”

“You don’t need to apologise, Narcissa. I knew as soon as I woke up why you had left. Granted, it hurt a little bit, but… I really like you. You’ve been a wonderful friend to me and I’m not willing to just throw that all away.”

“Hermione…” the blonde whispered, her eyes shining with tears.

“Don’t cry, Cissa,” I smiled gently, “You’re the ice queen. Ice queens don’t cry in public.”

“Of course.” She laughed despite herself and I held out my hand.

“Dance with me?”

“Yes.” Her eyes still shone with tears but she was glowing now as we stepped out on the dance floor and began to waltz. We danced for a few songs, Narcissa the lead as she had been dancing since she could walk, then we separated and I made a beeline for Rory.

“What’s going on with Mademoiselle Black, then, Hermione?” She said immediately in lieu of greeting, wiggling her eyebrows as she grabbed a glass of champagne from a passing waiter for me.

“Oh, I don’t know,” I sighed. Rory was still my best friend despite not having seen her for years, but I didn’t want to divulge everything – I had only just gained Narcissa’s trust, and I didn’t want to lose it. “We… well, that night, after you left, we – we slept together.” I sighed, looking around nervously.

“For real!?” Rory looked shocked, as a grin spread across her face, “Good on you, girl! What was she like?” She grinned salaciously as my cheeks felt almost like they were on fire.

“Rory!” I admonished, but she wouldn’t take no for an answer and stayed staring at me expectantly, “Well, it was… it was the best I've - Well, you know what I mean."

"Whoop!" Rory whooped loudly, ignoring my glare and the looks of the people around is as she slapped me enthusiastically on the back.

"Yeah, it was... I don't know, it was pretty crazy. Y'know," I leant forwards, "It was so weird, while we were... well, 'doing it', there was this, like, golden haze. I don't think Cissa saw it, her eyes were closed. But it hung around us, it was insane. Must have been pretty good sex..." I was grinning slightly, but I trailed off as Rory rounded on me, her hair all of a sudden a bright shade of red. Saying nothing, she grabbed me by the arm and dragged me through a door, slamming it shut. "W-what!? What's wrong!?" I stammered, slightly terrified - Rory was often fond of the dramatics, but the look in her eyes was like nothing I had ever seen before.

"Describe it." she demanded, whispering hoarsely.

"Uhh... what?"

"Describe what happened. Now."

"Umm... well, we were - well, y'know, and I, um, she, like, orgasmed and stuff, then she closed her eyes and this golden light filled the room. It was kinda like when the sun shines through a window into a dark room, it was all hazy, and up until I fell asleep an hour or so later I felt really happy and warm."

"Shit," Rory muttered, leaning back against a green and gold marble pillar, sinking to the floor, "Shit."

"What? What is it, Rory!?" I was panicking now, getting aggravated with the woman, whose hair had now turned back to normal but was looking rather limp.

"You... you created a magical bond. It's called 'Âmevinculum', Âme being French for Soul and Vinvulum Latin for..." she paused, thinking, "Bond." Despite myself, I resisted the urge to smile. Yes, she went to Beauxbatons - but she was a Ravenclaw, through and through.

"Right. Magic Bond. Got it." I said.

"I don't really think you do Hermione. You are clueless sometimes," she looked up at me, sighing, "The concept of a soul bond is to entwine your soul with another’s. It requires a... special connection."

"My soul is connected to Narcissa's now?" I questioned, all of a sudden going deathly pale.

Rory's grave face matched mine as she nodded, "From what you've told me, it appears so. Have you felt any different around her since?"

"I suppose so. I noticed her presence a lot already but now it often feels like I know exactly where she is, and I know if she's sad or not, or something like that. But I thought that was just my really-good-body-language-reading-skills."  
"Yeah. No. It's not," Rory sighed, "Look, let's just go back in and try and enjoy our night. I suppose Ronald," she spat his name with disgust, "Will be looking for you. Try and read up on it when you can. And don't forget," Rory stood up, looking me directly in the eye, "You must tell Narcissa - as soon as possible."

"Yes," I sighed, wondering how I was ever supposed to break it to her, "I will."

"Good." Rory turned and just as we went towards the doors, Narcissa slipped through them, shutting them behind her.

"Hermione," she said, her eyes colder than I had ever seen them. Narcissa's skin had turned to a deathly pale, and she seemed to be shaking. "They're here."

"What?" I said, the blood in my veins turning to ice.

"The Emunctorias." 

"No," I whispered, my voice hoarse, realising that a lot of the fear I was feeling was Narcissa's, despite the coolness that radiated from her.

"What's going on?" Rory asked, realising that something serious was happening. 

"Rory. You need to go. Now. We're getting out of here." I said.

"No. I'm not leaving you." she said simply, and that was that. The three of us fled the manor, heels clicking on marble floors as our gowns trailed behind us. We had almost reached the front doors when all of a sudden, the oak panelled wall ahead of me exploded, a bolt of green light singing my hair. 

They were duelling to kill. 

Throwing hex after hex over my shoulder, I began to feel a strain in my wand arm, not having done this kind of spellcasting since the war - 15 years ago today. 

I wondered briefly if I would ever be happy. Would the fighting ever cease? Or would it cease, and would I remain in a loveless marriage, alone and unhappy? Was there actually any version of my life, any parallel universe where I could be happy?

No. I had Narcissa now. That was one thing in this world worth fighting for - I knew that without a doubt.

Then I did one of the worst things I could have done. Chancing a look behind me, I caught a glimpse of my attackers. It was possibly one of the most terrifying things, I realised, something I had underestimated when Narcissa had described it to me - the sight of four men running towards me, all exactly the same in every single way, dressed from head to toe in grey - it was a horrible, consuming feeling, looking at the unbothered looks on their faces as they threw killing curse after killing curse. Then, a hand gripped my shoulder fiercely, ripping me through the front doors. As soon as we were outside, we were past the anti-apparition wards and Narcissa grabbed Rory and I, twisting us into oblivion.

\--

"Diagon Alley?" I questioned with a frown, looking around where she had taken us. It was far more ominous at night, despite the orange, glowing lamps that floated in the air around us. The streets were empty, and a strong wind blew cold, fresh air through my hair.

"More specifically, Gringott’s." Narcissa replied, a deadly glint in her eye as she turned and walked up the steps of the white, stone bank. I was shivering in my gown, the night are cold and uninviting.

Narcissa walked in first, just as the clock struck Midnight and Big Ben began to chime. Gringotts was the same as it always was; nothing appeared to be different, despite how late it was, although the entrance hall was empty. I felt Cissa's hand on the small of my back as she guided me towards one of the slightly fiercer, more battle worn looking goblins.

"I would like to see vault 913." said the blonde imperiously.

"I'm afraid-"

Narcissa sighed impatiently, "Ego nigrum ex nobili domo Domini." 

Thanking my fairly limited knowledge of Latin, she appeared to have said she was of the Noble House of Black, and the Goblin stilled ever so slightly as he looked up for the first time since arriving.

"Ahem," he cleared his throat, "Please follow me." We did as he said, and he took the three of us through a door to the vault passageways.

In contrast to the grand marble of the entryway and the main hall, the passageways to the vaults were stone and dimly lit with flaming torches. They sloped down to a track, upon which run little carts controlled by the goblins. 

The three of us, four including the goblin, squeezed into the cart. We began to move, the metal cart shaking ever so slightly as we sped off, going extremely quickly, further and further into the depths of the earth. Rory looked slightly queasy, and we were moving so fast you couldn't even take in your surroundings. I didn't feel great, but my two friends feared much worse, Rory's eyes scrunched shut and Narcissa's knuckles turned white from gripping the edge of the cart so tightly. As we travelled further, it seemed to get hotter, as if we were nearing the very core of the earth. 

All of a sudden, the cart came to a halt. "Vault 913." the goblin said gruffly, getting out.

"Son of a banshee... Vault 913 - the very last vault in Gringott's." Rory muttered. I wondered not for the first time since leaving the ball what the hell Narcissa was up to. 

We were in a large cave, and the walls glowed an angry, uninviting red. "Do not touch the walls," the goblin grumbled, "They will incinerate you." He waddled over to the cave wall. There was no door, nor any excusable form of entranceway. It looked just to be pure rock. However, despite this, the goblin rapped on the cave wall three times, the sound echoing around us. "Stay back," he warned, and we lined up beside him, careful not to touch the wall. I stifled a gasp when I looked back to our cart, and saw a small, bony figure emerge from underneath it. Rory almost fainted, and I drew back behind Narcissa in fear.

As the creature drew up to its full height, a terrifying height of thirteen feet, it turned to us. Its face had no discernible features; it seemed to be flat skin, stretched over a face. Wild, straggly hair stuck out in all directions, and its upper body seemed to be completely separated from its lower half. To complete the image, huge, bat like wings grew from behind, and they seemed to quiver slightly.

"It's a Manananggal." Cissy whispered.

"A what!?" I replied in shock.

"A Manananggal is like a vampire, but with the ability to sever its torso, and has an appetite for foetus hearts. They climb into windows, snatch pregnant women up, and use their long tongues to consume the sleeping woman’s blood and her foetus’s heart. There is no known way to kill them," she looked gravely ahead, fear yet an odd determination in her eyes as the creature shuffled towards the blank cave wall to our left with surprising speed, "And none of us are pregnant, apparently, as otherwise we would all be dead right now."

"Grand." I replied, stepping back ever so slightly as the creature passed us.

"They can also sort of see through walls - as in, they can detect bodies in other rooms. And a spoonful of their saliva could kill hundreds of millions. They also have eyes, you just can't see them." Narcissa, very helpfully, added.

"Bloody wonderful..." Rory muttered, looking as if she wanted the ground to swallow her up. We watched in fear as the Manananggal walked to the cave wall and slowly licked the exact place the goblin had knocked, silvery saliva making a rough circle.

Then, the Manananggal turned to us. I sensed the goblin tense slightly, and I realised this was not supposed to happen. For one, small moment it seemed as if it was going to come over to us, but instead collapsed to its hands and knees and crawled off.

Cissy shivered as it left, and then our attention turned back to the wall. Cracks began to appear, dark, shadowy light shining from within. Slowly, the rocks on the cave walls began to crumble, falling down to the floor in a heap of rubble. The dark light then began to circle as if it had a mind of its own, wrapping around the four of us like a slithering rope. I felt my lungs being slowly squeezed, and everything began to blur. 

All of a sudden, the squeezing sensation stopped, and I found myself in a dark room.

"Cissa? Rory?" I called out, but there was no response. Without warning, a feeling of falling washed over me, and I clutched my reeling in surprise. I couldn't find any solid walls or ground, until everything seemed to slow down, and I found myself, oddly enough, in the Headmasters office at Hogwarts. I hadn't been here since I was a student, and it brought back unpleasant memories of the war. The door was behind me, but when I turned the handle and opened it, it revealed... nothing. Just darkness, like a black hole.  
I heard a sound, and turned around once more to see the goblin, Cissa and Rory.

"Where are we?" I asked in confusion, looking around, noticing through the windows a similar black fog.

"Vault 913. We are not actually in Hogwarts, if that was not made clear before." the goblin spoke in a bored tone, his voice gravelly.

"Have you been here before?" I asked.

"No one has," the goblin replied, "This has been locked for hundreds of thousands of years... there isn't a single person alive on the planet today that knows what is in this vault." he stated, seemingly only realising the gravity of where he was after saying that single sentence. He seemed to grow excited, although tried to hide it, "So... where is it?" he asked, looking at the three of us.

"What?" Rory replied, scrunching up her nose.

"I don't know. Whatever is in this vault? A magical wand?" his voice dropped to a whisper, "The elder wand?"

"Don't be silly. The elder wand is destroyed," I retorted, before turning to Cissa, “Well? Why the hell are we here?" 

"I-" Cissa paused, sighing, "I don't entirely know. Many, many years ago, before I even reached Hogwarts, I was playing with my sisters in the gardens of Black Manor. A strong wind came upon us, and my hat fell from my head, sending me running blindly through the undergrowth. Dumbledore appeared, seemingly out of nowhere. I knew who he was - every magical child did at my age, and I was in awe of him. He handed me a key and told me if I was ever in dire trouble, to go to Vault 913. We never spoke of it again. Even in my most terrifying, difficult moments I have never felt the strong urge to open this vault - that is, not until now."

"Well, then, where's the key?" I questioned, and Narcissa blinked before removing a black pendant necklace from her neck. I realised absentmindedly it was the same one Sooky had given me, back in Greece.

"Accio lock." Cissa said suddenly, and I rolled my eyes - that would never work. But, sure enough, the very simple spell had worked, and a massive, old, wooden trunk came flying from the depths of the office. It collapsed onto the wooden floorboards with a groan. Cissa flicked a latch on the top of the box and a panel swung back to reveal two, matching pendant shapes.

"Oh." I whispered, removing my own necklace in shock, thanking Merlin I had worn it every single day since I had been given it.

Cissa blinked in surprise when she watched me lower my own necklace, but said nothing, and we pressed them into the rusty metal at the same time.

"I never asked your name, by the way." I added, ignoring Cissa's frown. The goblin looked rather surprised, and for a moment I resented asking, but then he spoke up.  
"Rotstick. Rotstick Ziggmor," He responded gruffly with a brief nod.

"Right. Want me to open it?" Cissa nodded, and I reached forward, opening it. A soft gasp escaped my lips as it revealed four large, beautiful, deadly weapons, along with a few smaller weapons, and four cloaks. Cissa gasped, bending down, her hand picking up a small dagger to admire it carefully.

I had forgotten about the fifth person in the group, and watched in surprise as Rotstick stepped forwards, "These... the four weapons, made by the gods, the gods, yes, they - they're right here, they - the four heirs..." Rotstick began to ramble, edging closer to the trunk as if he was under a spell as Cissa put the bow back.

"Rotstick? What are you doing?" I looked at him in confusion as he took a step forward, entranced by the contents of the trunk. He leant over and reached out to the handle of the bow that Cissy had just been touching, but quickly and unexpectedly, he jumped back, clutching his hand.

A sudden, piercing wail emitted from the goblins mouth, and I looked up only to watch in horror as Rotstick began to shake, convulsing and frothing at the mouth, violently spasming as he fell to the ground. Blood poured out of his pores and his very eye sockets, and I heard a crunch as his bones seemingly began to shatter. His face was a deathly shade of putrid yellow mixed with black-ish blood, and his skin began to evaporate and peel away.

Then, abruptly, the room seemed to begin to fade. Under Cissa's instructions, we each grabbed the trunk, a look of fear on our faces as we watched each other fade completely.

Within a matter of seconds, we were back in the cave, and each scrambled to grab a weapon, fear in each of our eyes. Rory held a dagger. Cissa had a bow and a quiver of arrows over her shoulder, alongside a long knife, and I had a massive but incredibly light sword in two hands.

Looking ahead, I saw the monstrous Manananggal crawl up and over the ledge at the cave mouth, our cart just behind it.

"I've never even used this thing before!" Cissa exclaimed in terror, gesturing to the bow.

"Just do the best you can!" I said, bracing myself.

"Wait!" Cissa screeched as we got ready to fight the creature. She rustled around in her robe pockets and pulled out a sachet of salt.

"What the hell - Cissa, what are you doing!?" 

"Just - I read this somewhere, it might not work but I can try!" she screamed, and as the creature came closer, she braced herself to throw the salt on it.

"Wait!" I grabbed her arm, and then took an arrow out of her quiver. Spitting on the tip, I took the salt and tipped it on. Thankfully, it stuck, and I handed it to Cissa as the monster drew closer and closer.

"What - I don't even know how to use this Muggle thing!"

"Look, just... put your hand here, yes, and pull it back - Yeah! Now let go!" I screamed, and Cissa did, the arrow hurtling towards the monster with terrifying speed, landing exactly on its target.

We fell silent, breathing heavily, as it stopped, flapping its wings before looking down at its torso. All of a sudden, the creature turned to stone, and then crumbled into a pile of rubble, much like the cave wall had done before.

"What do we do now? Only a goblin could navigate out of here, and we're right in the depths!" said Rory, looking panicked. We were all panting, sweat and goblin blood dripping down our faces.

"Right," Cissa said, her voice calmer than ours, "We need to do something with these weapons. We can't leave them here for anyone to find."

"I'll put them in my bag!" I said, reaching into my bra to pull out the pea sized pouch I always carried. Using my wand, I returned it to its usual, not much bigger size.

"That will never work..." Rory trailed off as she watched the bag open wide enough for the trunk to fit in.

"Undetectable extension charm?" Cissa questioned, "Impressive."

"We'll deal with this later." I said with a sigh, pulling the drawstrings on the small beaded back to close it.

"Providing there is a later." Cissa muttered dryly.

"I - I'll fly ahead and try and find a goblin to help us..." Rory said worriedly.

"Fly?" Cissa scrunched up her nose, but a moment later Rory was gone and a Bald Eagle stood, blinking, in her place.

"But why would they help us - Rory, wait!" I shouted, my voice echoing around the cavern as the eagle swooped away, "Oh, Merlin, we're going to be stuck down here forever!" I wailed in despair, collapsing onto the floor, my cloak discarded a few metres away.

"Way to stay positive." Cissa grumbled, flopping down onto the cave floor in her gown, "What do you think those cloaks are for?" 

"No clue. They're nice, though." I responded.

"Should we wear them?" Cissa asked.

"I don't see why we shouldn't." I shrugged. We stood up, and I rummaged around in the bag, pulling two out. We slipped them on, and I somehow felt much safer wearing them, which was odd but nice. Cissa had just lifted up her hood when another cart pulled up. Inside was a goblin, an eagle perched on the side of the cart. Rory flew over and transformed back to herself as we caught a flash of the goblins face for a second, and noticed his eyes had a glassy look.

"Is he..." Cissa murmured, noticing it too.

"Imperioused? Yes. There was no other way." she spoke gravely, her voice low. We nodded, and she waved her wand at us, making us look presentable, removing any traces of blood.

Ten minutes and hundreds of winding cavernous paths later, our two carts pulled up, and we got out, exiting through a door into the vast, marble hall where hundreds of goblins still sat, counting money. With a flick of her wand, she removed the imperious curse and obliviated him, leaving him confused as he wandered off. 

"We can't leave yet," Cissa said with a sigh, looked dejected at Rory and I turned to her in shock - I knew the faster we left, the more chance we had of not getting caught, "I know, I'm sorry. But everything is going to be different now, Hermione. They were after you, too. There's no going back now. We need to withdraw our money and leave."

"Right. Okay." I sighed. The next five minutes were spent with me in contemplative silence as Narcissa made the request to have all of her holdings removed and transferred into an untraceable offshore Muggle account. Rory and I eyed each other, knowing that the richest woman in Wizarding prison probably brought a lot of money to the bank, and that withdrawing every last penny under her name was going to attract attention.

A significant amount of beady eyes were upon us now as we crossed the room to a different goblin and made the same request, with me filling out the forms now as I emptied my own account. I was incredibly glad that despite how young I was when we had married, I had made Ron and mine's bank accounts separate. Even then, I didn't trust the man. A clock ran out above the doorway - it was two in the morning. I felt a strong weariness settle over me as I knew the night was far from over.

Then, the doors to Gringott's bank burst open. Three identical men and three identical woman filed in. They were all dressed in grey.


	9. Chapter 9

We looked around. The goblins were gone, and the temperature seemed to have dropped as we stood in our cloaks, facing the identical group.

All of a sudden, spells were flying and the three of us were frantically throwing up shields as I felt a curse just miss my shoulder, singing my skin slightly. We ducked for cover, the sounds of spells whooshing over my head, ringing in my ears. Throwing spell after spell around the side of the marble pillar I had hidden behind, I glanced to my left and saw that Cissa and Rory were doing the same thing, thankfully unhurt.

Then I realised we were being attacked on all sides.

"Narcissa! The goblins are going against us too!" I shouted in terror, my shield charm weakening by the second as I struggled to know which direction to fire at.

"We need to get out of here!" the blonde called back, sending a vicious slicing charm towards one of the goblins, hitting her target, "Staying here would be suicide, we can't win, we're outnumbered!"

"Go! GO!" Rory suddenly screamed, and I watched in horror as she jumped out from behind her cover, transforming into an eagle, diving down to try and claw at the eyes of the grey men and women.

"Rory! No!" I cried, but it was too late. All of a sudden, there was a strong hand dragging me behind the dark, wooden counter that ran along the length of the hall. My voice was hoarse as Narcissa continued to pull me along, ducking down so that we could not see anything but the path in front of us.

We reached the doors, and I chanced a look back. Narcissa followed my eyes. Everything seemed to happen in slow motion.

Rory swooped down as a grey, male wizard pointed his wand at me. Her claws scrabbled at the face of the man as he screamed, her majestic wings swooping so fast it created a whirlwind of papers flying about the grand hall. A shimmer of magic came over the man as Rory seemed to rip the very skin from his face.

There, standing right in front of me, dressed in grey, was Ronald Weasley.

\--

When I felt the sun beating down on my face for the first time in weeks, despite everything that had just occurred, I felt an innate sense of peace wash over me. We were back in Greece, and for a moment I found myself pretending none of this had happened, and I was back in this safe haven with Narcissa and nothing to worry about except where we would go out for breakfast.

The sun was just rising on the horizon as we found ourselves in the sun room and I collapsed to the floor, my bare back pressing against the marble floor as I stared up at the glass ceiling and felt my gown pool around me.

"Would you like to talk about it, or would you like to be distracted?" Narcissa questioned gently, looking concerned. 

"Distracted." I mumbled, feeling sick at the memory of my husband's black eyes as he sent the killing curse towards Rory's screeching form.

"That's a good distraction." Narcissa mumbled, and I looked up to see Pyxis padding towards me. It was almost as if he could sense my distress - he began to paw at me, nuzzling my face with his tongue. I felt him nudging me slightly, and I giggled as he pushed me, rolling me over.

"Ahh!" I yelped in surprise as I was suddenly surrounded by water, falling straight into the pool. "Pyxis!" I admonished, but I was laughing now as Pyxis began to run about, barking happily, jumping around excitedly like he was a puppy again. He was still fat, however, so he wasn't jumping very high.

Then my eyes fell to Narcissa as I stood, soaking, in the pool. The sun glinted off of the jewels in her gown as she covered her mouth with one hand, the other clutching her stomach as she wheezed with laughter. I realised in that moment she had never looked more beautiful, and it took me by surprise. Then she blinked, frowning at me.

"What?" she questioned.

"What? I didn't say anything." I responded, confused.

"Yes you did, you said - you just said..." Narcissa trailed off, almost looking... disappointed. Almost as if she had heard what I was thinking.

Oh, shit. The bond. I had forgotten about that.

"Umm... We need to talk." I said with a sigh, preparing myself to leave the pool and sit beside her on a sun lounger. But, to my surprise, her heels clicked on the floor and she walked to the edge of the pool, going down the steps and wading into the water so that she faced me. Pyxis came to the edge of the pool and lay down, exhausted.

"Great. More bad news."

"Sorry," I closed my eyes, taking a deep breath, "Basically, when we, um... that night, after Rory left us at the Burrow," Narcissa's cheeks flushed red, "We sort of... created a magical bond."

"I thought so," Narcissa responded calmly, looking slightly aggravated, "But I wasn't sure."

"You what!?" I exclaimed, having expected some sort of shout of surprise, maybe her storming off.

"Hermione, I can literally hear your thoughts, I can sense when you're near me," Narcissa laughed, "Obviously I noticed."

"Why are you so calm!? This is a big deal!"

"Well, not really," Narcissa shrugged casually, droplets of water trickling down her neck, only the bottom of her hair wet, "It's only a big deal if you make it one."

"What does that even mean?" I groaned.

"Think about it. We can hear each other’s thoughts, heal each other, share magic, sense each other. It could be extremely useful in combat - we just haven't had a chance to use it yet because neither of us have embraced the bond."

"Wait, we can do all of that?"

"You didn't know?" she frowned.

"I'm not exactly well versed on weird, invasive, creepy magic like this. No offence."

"None taken," Narcissa frowned, "Sorry if I seem so casual about this, it just really isn't a big deal for me."

"Right. Okay." I sighed.

"Come on. I have something to show you, but we need to do something else first."

"What?" I questioned as we rose out of the pool and she cast a drying charm. There was no response from the blonde, but the air began to thrum with magic as she revealed her wand seemingly from nowhere and began to mutter something under her breath. Deciding that this was Narcissa Black, and although she was a bit of a nutter she always knew what she was doing, I stepped back and let her do her thing.

Threads of silver slipped from her wand like liquid, streaming through the air like curls of smoke as they danced around us, one particularly bright strand wrapping itself around my wand arm. I noticed a similar thing happened to Narcissa, and watched in fascination as the curls of silver seemed to sink into our skin.

Narcissa sighed, suddenly looking incredibly tired as I dashed forward and wrapped an arm around her waist, steadying her before she fell over. The events that had let up to this point had been both emotionally and physically draining, but this was different. It was like the spell she had just cast had depleted her magical stores. Helping her up the stairs, I guided her into her bedroom and she flicked her wand, vanishing both of our gowns.

Blushing, I shook my head, "You shouldn't be using magic," I took her wand and she climbed into bed, with me sliding in beside her, "As much as I know we both need a rest, before I spend my night - well, technically, my day - thinking about what the hell just happened, why don't you just tell me."

Narcissa blinked wearily, leaning her head back on the cushion as she mumbled, "Fidelius charm... We're secret keepers... Will show you other thing tomorrow."

Then she was fast asleep.

 

\--

 

I awoke as a gentle sigh sounded behind me. The sun was beginning to descend in the sky and I realised that we had slept all through the day, as we had gotten home in the early hours of the morning.

Home. That was a foreign concept to me now, with dead parents and no husband to go back to. At this point I doubted if I would ever see the inside of The Burrow again. However, as I looked out the windows at the golden sea, I supposed this was my home now. The thought was not an unpleasant one, as I realised I would not be leaving much behind if I stayed secluded here with Narcissa however.

I wondered briefly if Rory and Andy would come and visit me here. Andy would, of course. Then I turned back and caught a glimpse of the scratches that ran down Narcissa's face, and I realised that Rory was not going to be visiting me.

Because Rory was dead.

I wandered out of Narcissa's room and stood, my arms resting on the rails, glancing over my tattoos. Tracing the colourful lines gently, a soft sigh escaped my lips as I looked down upon the water below and felt a horrible, creeping feeling of sadness wash over me. Then it hit me fully, and I didn't realise I had collapsed to the ground until I felt Narcissa's warm arms around me. I still hadn't cried - the shock was still too much, and I couldn't quite bring myself to believe that my best friend for over ten years was gone. I would never, ever see her again.

"Come on. You need a distraction. Let me show you something." her hands pressed against my lower back, and she guided me down the stairs, through a small alcove and down a second flight of stone steps to my bedroom. We went out onto the balcony and turned, facing the ladder Pyxis had once nudged me towards. It felt like a lifetime ago now.

"We're still in our underwear." I suddenly noticed, a ripple of laughter escaping my mouth as we stood out in the open.

"Oh well," Narcissa grinned, looking relieved to see me smiling, "I'm sure the neighbours will enjoy the view," the blonde looked me up and down, winking as I flushed bright red and followed her up the ladder, "Here we are." I watched carefully as she bend down towards the turquoise painted trap door. However, before she opened it, she pressed the handle down into the ground, twisted it clockwise twice then anti-clockwise three times, and pulled it out. Frowning now, I continued to observe the woman as she crossed the roof and placed the back of the key carefully into a spot on a raised ledge. The trapdoor sprung open.

The room we climbed into was extremely different from the room I had been guided into by her Golden Retriever. This room, obviously enlarged by magic, was far larger than the room I had seen beneath the trap door, with a big conference room table in the middle and a floor to ceiling screen hanging on the opposite wall. Various archways led off of the room, the first we went to revealing a small room with a huge display of screens. Each screen depicted different places on the island, such as the café we first met in and the beach. There was also a screen for the room where Narcissa kept her boat, as well as a screen per room in the house. 

"This is... interesting." I muttered, still slightly shocked, feeling out of place in my basic black underwear. 

"Sorry. I know it's a lot to take in. I haven't actually been in here for years - I've had no reason to. Sooky keeps it clean." she explained. We left and entered another archway branching off of the conference table room, which revealed a rectangular cave. The stone walls reached not far above my head, and despite the stone roof and floors, the walls were lined with oak panels. Gaps in the panels revealed shelves running along the sides, and my eyebrows reached my hairline as I took everything in.

On my left, rows and rows of weapons - various guns, suppressors and other gun-related equipment. It started at tiny pistols so small they would fit in a purse, and stretched to reveal sniper rifles and other massive guns I didn't recognise. Most of it was far out of my realm of knowledge.

On my right, rows and rows of different 'gadgets'. In the middle, a u-shaped table with a chair in the centre and a lamp on the table. It was off, but all over the table I could see from the fluorescent lights above hundreds of tiny pieces of electrics, some wires and different circuit boards. 

The next room was a standard potions room, with rows of shelves containing various potions and jars of ingredients, and three or four cauldrons dotted in the middle.

Staying silent, not quite believing my eyes, we ducked into a small bathroom, then moved on to the final room. It was the only one without any hint of stone, cave walls - instead, the walls were a similar oak panel to the last, with the shelves this time containing rows of different items of clothing, ranging from magical robes, gowns, what looked to be a wetsuit, and bulletproof vests. It made me glad I was a muggleborn, as I likely would have not known what any of this was without some form of explanation otherwise.

"I call this the Moon room." Narcissa said absentmindedly as we returned to the main room. 

"So," I turned to her, "What do we do now?"

"What do you mean?" she frowned.

"Well, what's next? Where do we go? We need to get to the bottom of this!"

"Well," she stammered, "I suppose I just thought we might... stay here."

"I'm not going to argue with that, Narcissa, I won't even bother. My husband just killed my best friend - we're doing something about this. Well, actually," I pinched my nose in exasperation, "No, we're not. I'm not forcing you to do anything, I'm asking for your help. If you choose not to, I'll go elsewhere, but..."

"Of course I'll help you," she sighed, "Of course I will," Narcissa folded her arms over her chest, shifting from foot to foot as we stood, half naked, in the Moon room, "How could I say no to you, Hermione?"

"Don't," I glanced at Narcissa, her expression open and vulnerable, "Not today. Let's go back to bed and discuss this in the morning."

"Okay." 

 

\--

 

It was the next morning, and I was stood beside Narcissa as she began to hum lightly and browse through the racks of clothes until she came across the wetsuit I had seen earlier.

"Do you know what Kevlar is?" she questioned.

"More or less." I responded.

"Well, the basic concept of this is absorbing things such as the impact of a bullet or perhaps shrapnel from a grenade. I doubt we will encounter either of those things in the ministry, but it's an extra layer of protection regardless. So far, I haven't managed to magically alter these successfully in any way aside for making it so it regulates your body temperature, which I found extremely useful for missions in places like Russia or Spain." she explained. 

"Sounds lovely." I raised an eyebrow. We had spent the last two hours trying to devise a plan to break into the ministry and search Ron's office, as it was pretty obvious we would find nothing at the Burrow. So far, we had only come up with the idea of using Polyjuice potion or our Animagi, however it was refreshing to be with someone whose tactics involved planning and not storming into places with no idea of what we were to encounter.

Using my wand, I removed the shirt and joggers I had changed into and got the Kevlar jumpsuit onto my body, as Narcissa did the same. I stifled a giggle, feeling like I was in a Marvel movie as Cissa began to assist me in strapping holsters to my legs and ankles. I had never used a gun before, so she merely placed knives in the holders for me, with two handguns strapped to her thighs and two small knives on her ankles.

As I watched the blonde lace up her steel-capped black boots, I found myself unable to take my eyes off of her. She was undeniably attractive, with her slim, tall body, dazzling smile and bright, grey eyes. It was almost ridiculous, the situation we were in - wearing muggle Military grade armour with Narcissa Malfoy, ready to break into the ministry to look through Ronald Weasley's office.

The plan was insane, the situation was insane and I felt as if I was going rather insane as we pulled on the cloaks we had found in Gringott’s, the trunk lying beside us on the floor. 

"Ready?" she questioned with a grin.

"Ready." I responded, rolling my eyes at her childish excitement. We apparated to an alleyway around the corner from the red phone box, expecting to have to wait for at least an hour before a wizard came along. However, we were not kept waiting for more than five minutes when a man dressed in a long, brown trench coat with the collar popped up and his wand sticking out of his pocket appeared. Rolling my eyes, I watched from the darkened alley as Narcissa transformed into the white cat I now knew and climbed up onto a low wall, following beside him for a few paces until she launched herself into the air, landing atop the man’s head.

“Argh!” he cried out, and I watched with a frown as he grabbed her, flinging the cat against a wall. Narcissa let out a yowl, but landed on her feet and trotted calmly back over to me. Once we were behind the cover of the dark alley she transformed back and held up a hair, smirking. 

Narcissa had disclosed that, many years ago, when she was experimenting with potions with the help of Severus Snape they created a modified version of the Polyjuice Potion. It was far easier to brew, but ran out much quicker and was quite dangerous. But we didn’t have much choice, so Narcissa apparated back to Greece to start brewing, and I ducked out from the alleyway as the man approached the red telephone box, having pulled a jumper over my jumpsuit and taken off my robe.

“Excuse me, do you have a moment to talk about Greenpeace?” I questioned, as the man whipped around, looking shocked. He took the appearance of a deer caught in headlights, as if he had never seen a muggle before in his life.

“I – I am not sure what that – I mean, yes, I – yes!” he stuttered, his face taking on a worrying shade of deep purple. 

“Stay very still.” I muttered, as my wand was suddenly pressed up against his back. I whispered ‘Expelliarmus’ and pocketed his wand, guiding him into the alleyway. As soon as we were away from any prying eyes, he was stunned, obliviated and apparated back to Greece.

“How’s it going?” I questioned, having magically bound the man to a sun lounger in the Sun room. We now stood in the potions room that led off the Moon room, and Narcissa was carefully stirring a thick mixture anti-clockwise. This was more my realm of knowledge, and I could tell by the odd fog that filled the room that the potion was about halfway finished. A few hours of stirring and adding ingredients passed, as I became her lab assistant and helped her make sure everything was correct before the potion was finished.

“Let’s do this.” Narcissa said confidently despite the small flicker of nervousness in her eyes. We returned to the Sun Room, instructing Sooky to watch over the man before apparating back to the alleyway.

“Ready?” I questioned.

“Ready.” Narcissa grimaced, downing the potion as she began to morph slowly into the ministry worker. 

“You look hot.” I smirked, the playful slap she returned on my arm now extremely creepy as I was facing a greying, middle aged man. A second later, I was in my Animagi form and a Bowtruckle was lifted by the man into the top pocket of his ministry robes. I could see through the thin fabric as ‘he’ strode forwards and entered the phone booth. Soon enough, we were standing in the Ministry atrium, panic filling me slightly as the crowds surged around and I lost my sight.

Then bright lights were shining through the gaps in the fabric and the sound of the sickly sweet lift announcer filled my ears. The lift thankfully stayed empty until we reached level two: Magical Law Enforcement.

Stepping out of the lift, we found ourselves in a corridor lined with doors on both sides, around the corner of which was a set of heavy oak doors. My breathing became erratic as I watched the mans hand reach out and push them open, revealing the Auror Headquarters: a large open area divided into small cubicles, one for each auror.

Another set of oak doors stood at the very end of the room, and I couldn't describe the relief I felt as we merely received a few disinterested glances before the Aurors returned to their work.

A golden plaque reading -

'Ronald Weasley   
Head Auror'

\- was magically stuck to the wall, and I grimaced just at his name. We had timed it perfectly, and the clock had just gone five past one when Narcissa confidently pushed the office door open as if she had every right to be there.

Climbing out of the pocket, Narcissa placed me on the ground and I morphed back into a human, reaching into my pouch to pull out the laptop-shaped device Narcissa had brought with us. Opening it, I saw that the top lid contained a screen and the bottom lid nothing but a see-through piece of glass.

"Find every document you can that seems like it may be relevant and had it to me." instructed 'the man', and we began to meticulously work through the office, my heart racing as I tried not to leave anything out of place. Occasionally, I would read a headline that might perhaps be useful and pass it along to Narcissa, who would take maybe two or three more sheets and place them in the machine, closing the lid. A small beep would sound, and the sheets would come out of the side one by one as if it were a printer.

Ten minutes passed rifling through filing cabinets with my wand, my palms sweaty as I continuously checked my watch and glanced at the door.

Then I heard it. A voice. His voice. My veins were ice as grey eyes turned to me, the blonde's movements calm as she opened my pouch and placed the laptop inside, shrinking the pouch to the size of a small screw and tying it around my wrist like a bracelet. 

When the door was pushed open, I came face to face with the dead, black eyes that had killed my best friend. His face was now marred with deep cuts that had not yet healed and would likely scar, the snarl on his face as he saw me like nothing I had ever witnessed before.

And I froze. Found myself completely and utterly incapable of doing anything except stare and try and resist the tears that seemed to bubble up out of nowhere. Ronald was on the floor before he could blink, Narcissa having thrown a particularly vicious stunner at him. However, the door was wide open and now every single Auror in the vicinity was staring at us, shocked.

"Well, fuck." Narcissa sighed, calmly shutting the door with a flick of her wand. She had just thrown up a ward to stop anyone from entering when a barrage of spells blasted into the wood and there was shouting from behind. A siren suddenly began to wail, and Narcissa raised an eyebrow, looking mildly unimpressed. Our eyes connected and I felt her send a mental signal telling me to go to my Animagi as her eyelid began to droop and I realised the potion was wearing off. 

Then I realised which Animagi she meant, and wondered if her plan was so outrageous it would actually work.

'Yes, it is' I heard her voice say inside my head, a confident smirk on the cocky woman's face.

"Whatever." I muttered aloud, and a moment later a frighteningly large lion with tattoos all along it's front left arm was standing in the middle of Ronald Weasley's office. The door burst open, and the moment of shock from the Auror's as they watched a snowy white cat riding on the back of a lion burst towards them was more than enough time for us to rush past. However, I still felt the sting of hexes hitting my powerful shoulder blades as I raced through the lobby.

Funnily enough, the lift emptied when I approached, as the screams of the workers coming up disappeared with the closing of the doors. Wagging my tail slowly, I caught a glimpse of my reflection in the gold-panelled mirror. Hmm, I did look quite terrifying.

Quickly transforming back into human, I turned to cat-Narcissa, "How are we actually going to get out now they know? Won't they have closed off all connections?"

Narcissa appeared now, the cat gone and the polyjuice potion having worn off, "I'm... not entirely sure."

"Shit. Disillusionment charm and wing it?" I questioned.

"Now I know what it was like when the Golden Trio went on the run, three bold Gryffindors without a plan." she smirked.

"We had plans!" I insisted defiantly. However, I was distracted suddenly as I realised the lift had come to a stop.

"We appear not to be moving." Narcissa commented helpfully.

"Should we use the muggle weapons?" I asked nervously.

"It appears that the time has come for that, yes." the blonde responded. Then her relaxed demeanour was gone, and the mans cloak was discarded on the floor as she stood before me in her Kevlar suit, a black rucksack on her back. Digging around in the bag momentarily, she pulled out a metal box and opened it, revealing a pot of gooey white liquid and a paintbrush.

"Ooh, yes, arts and crafts." I said sarcastically, grinning as Narcissa merely rolled her eyes and bent down, spreading the paste over a square in the middle of the lift. As she packed it away and pulled another device from her bag, I stepped back. The floor began to sizzle and burn, and before long, there was a hole where the bottom of the lift had once been, revealing a seemingly bottomless shaft devoid of the cables and wires you would find below a muggle lift.

The device Narcissa had just pulled from her bag looked like a gun, but with the head of a grappling hook at the end. Calmly, she shot it at the ceiling, the horrible clanging noise echoing around me as we slowly climbed upwards.

"Sorry. You're going to have to become your little insect again."

"Bowtruckle." I muttered, sticking my tongue out at her as she smiled despite our potentially life-threatening situation. The lift had started to move upwards again, and moments later, I was tucked into her pocket and she was lowering herself into the shaft at a frightening speed, the laws of physics meaning she needed to move faster than the pace of the lift to actually get anywhere.

The grapple hook was disengaged as Narcissa had prised the doors open with her wand and swung through, revealing an empty lobby, the receptionist thankfully nowhere to be found. 

Jumping out of Narcissa's pocket, I transformed mid air and landed on my feet. "I was never able to do that before!" I exclaimed happily.

"It's probably the bond. Sharing magic and such, as I learnt that trick a year or so ago," Narcissa guessed, as my cheeks flushed red ever so slightly, "This is the Department of Magical Games and Sports." Narcissa explained, which made me realise why I didn't recognise it - as if I would ever possibly have a reason to go anywhere on this floor.

Then there was a noise. A young, spotty, dark-skinned boy with a small afro and a shocked expression on his face had dropped his wand in surprise, staring back at us in terror.  
Narcissa sighed, and I could hear her thoughts clearly, knowing that what she was about to do next was immoral but the only way we would ever be able to get out of here.

"Imperious." whispered the blonde, looking as disappointed as I was at having to do that. Before long, we were in the atrium. I couldn't see what was happening, as I was tucked in the boys pocket and Narcissa was in her cat form, held in the boys arms, blocking my view.

This was it, I thought, overhearing the distinct voice of the imperioused boy arguing with a security guard at being allowed to use the Floo when the ministry was on lockdown. However, it appeared we had been lucky, as the guard relented. Then it struck me why I had felt as if I had recognised him. 

The reason he had gotten through security was because he was Kingsley's son.


	10. Chapter 10

We were back in the Sun room, Narcissa standing casually beside me as we stared down at two bound, stunned, gagged men on our floor.

"Right. What's next?"

"I suppose... Obliviate and return?" Narcissa responded, looking quite calm despite the situation.

"I can't believe we kidnapped the Minister for Magic's son." I mumbled, shocked as I stood still watching the unconscious boy.

"Oh, that's Kingsley's son?" Narcissa questioned, "Yes," she smiled, "I can see the resemblance now." Then she was back to work again, a hand around my waist before I realised what was going on. She pushed me towards the two bodies and before I knew it there was a horrible tugging at my naval and we landed back in the same alleyway.

The blonde began to methodically strip the man of his valuable belongings to make it seem as if he was mugged and knocked out, before removing the bonds and casting 'Obliviate'. It was strange, how useless I felt. When I was on the run with my boys - No, with Harry and Ronald - I was always the one to take charge after experiencing something harrowing. I worked through the grief and the trauma, pushing it to the back of my mind.

Now, however, the image of Rory's screeching Animagus was never far from my mind. I realised suddenly that I had a deep, twisting, desperate need for revenge, strong like nothing I had ever felt before. It was an anger that seeped throughout my very veins, pulsating like the blood that circulated my body.

And every ounce of that anger was directed at Ronald fucking Weasley.

"Mione?" I blinked and realised Narcissa had apparated me to the other side of London, "I'm tired. We blew our cover anyways. I'm just going to Obliviate the boy and leave him here. It's a large area, he'll be fine."

"Sure." I responded, my weariness catching up with me as I looked around slowly, watching Narcissa flick her wand a few times before we, once more, twisted into nothingness.

For the first time ever, the skies were grey as we appeared back in the Sun room. It felt rather apt, as I was feeling darker perhaps than ever before.

"Is there any way to the Moon room other than the bloody roof?" I grumbled, looking up at the glass ceiling.

"Yes, Mione, there is." Narcissa responded with a wry yet fond smile, letting out a twinkling laugh as she turned and headed to the old wardrobe. Opening it, she tapped the panel with her wand and she held the clothes aside like a curtain for me, revealing the stone stairs leading to the kitchen like Narnia, "Ladies first." she announced. However, as I stepped forward, she ducked in front of me and ran down the steps, laughing.

"How rude!" I called out, a smile breaking out on my cracked lips as a tear appeared on my cheek. I would not have survived this long without that woman - for that I was sure. Appearing beside her in the kitchen, I swatted her arms and she simply giggled, turning to the fireplace I had not fully noticed before. It was unremarkable - white and plain, and seemed like it had not seen a fire for a long time. Greece was not exactly known for it's cold climate.

Watching the blonde carefully as she dragged her hand along the mantlepiece, she reached a certain point and let out a small smile. There was a click, and all of a sudden the fireplace began to sink into the ground, revealing what appeared to be a broom closet. Stepping forwards, I entered it quietly, having learnt long ago not to question her motives. The fireplace slid back into place and she flicked on a light switch, basking us in a yellow glow as the floor seemed to shudder.

"Narcissa Black, sneaking into broom cupboards with girls for a cheeky snog, who would have thought!?"

"Hermione! Don't be so crude!" she admonished, but the blush was there for both of us to see and she hid her smirk as the door suddenly slid away, revealing the Moon room. Walking forwards, I glanced back to see the stone wall slide perfectly back into place as if it was one solid mass the whole time.

"Let's get down to business, then." I said, pulling my pouch out to retrieve the laptop. Narcissa and I took seats at the opposite end of the conference table from the large screen, with her at the head and me to her left. There was a hole in the table and she poked a bunch of wires through it, plugging them into the document scanner. It was ingenious, really - now Ron wouldn't know what documents we had found, as they had all been put back. In the best case scenario, he might even think that we hadn't found anything at all, and he had stopped us in time.

The large cinema screen came to life, as the first document came up both in front of us and on the document scanner screen.

Three whole hours passed and we found nothing. Not even one remotely interesting detail in a single piece of parchment. We found out many, many classified details about the ministry and many things that could have locked up certain Wizengamot members for good - it appeared Ronald was a fan of taking bribes, although Merlin knows I never saw any of that money - and we found out many details about the troubles the Auror's had gotten up to that hadn't been reported by the media. But there wasn't a single hint on why the hell my husband was there that night at Gringott's, and no mention of anything to do with the Emunctoria's.

Until we reached the eighth page of some paperwork - filed by an Auror named Devalius Prince on the time he had pricked his finger in Magical Cambodia - and I let out a gasp.

"Go back! Go back!" I said excitedly, pointing my finger at the screen as Narcissa frowned and swiped right. The previous piece of parchment appeared again, and I pointed at the bottom left hand corner of it, jumping up and down in my seat.

"What is it!?" Narcissa asked, looking surprised.

"There!" I leant over and zoomed in on the corner of parchment, "Enhance that!" I instructed, not even sure if she could actually do that. However, a moment later, Narcissa had sharpened the image so you could see every speck of dust on the page.

"Mione! You bloody genius!" Narcissa exclaimed, so overjoyed she had even cursed out loud.

"Ronald, you bloody idiot." I grinned.

"How did you notice?"

"When we were married," I began, knowing full well we hadn't actually divorced yet, "And he wrote something that for whatever reason he didn't want me to see, he would always magically erase it. However, what he didn't know was that every time I knew exactly what he was writing - because he may have gotten rid of the ink, but the imprint of the quill in the parchment was still there."

"You could have told me this two or three hours ago." The blonde pointed out as I just ignored her, rolling my eyes. That tiny imprint was the only message we could find, and it only consisted of seven, single, solitary words.

 

_'Harry Potter - High threat to The Cause'_

　

\--

　

"This is ours." I muttered, glancing up as a bright red, double decker bus came into view. I paid for mine and Narcissa's tickets, taking a seat halfway down the first floor. Narcissa wore tailored black trousers, a white blouse and a black trench coat with, of course, matching heels. I had opted for jeans, a baggy shirt and a pair of trainers to blend in.

We arrived in the London Borough of Islington, not far from the Thames. The sun was shining, but I felt irreversibly gloomy as we got off the bus and began to walk down a street I had not walked down for many, many years.

Narcissa had her own history with this place, and I could see the grimace on her face as she took my arm in hers and strode forward. We had arrived.

Grimmauld Place.

When we approached number twelve, an eerie silence fell as it began to shove its neighbouring houses, number eleven and number thirteen, out of the way as it appeared between them. A worn set of steps, leading to a battered front door, was revealed. On the door was a silver knocker in the shape of a twisted serpent, with no keyholes, handles, or anything else that would indicate it to be a door. Reaching forward, Narcissa went to press the doorbell - but nothing happened; no loud, clanging bell I had remembered hearing during the war, from both inside and outside of the house.

"Oh, yes, let us ring the doorbell, I'm sure Harry will just let us right in." I said sarcastically.

"Well, it didn't work, so it doesn't matter." Narcissa shrugged. Now it was my turn, and I placed my wand on the door, my heartbeat beginning to pick up as the door clicked open. "You're a secret keeper?"

"Yes," I responded, "Everyone in the order became one after Albus died."

"Including..."

"Yes," I repeated gravely, "Including Ronald."

Pushing the door open, I had expected it to creak forebodingly, but all was silent as we stepped inside and shut it behind us.

The very first thing that came to me, was that this was not the same place I had arrived in 15 years ago, and it certainly did not fit the image of an alcoholic who had drunk himself into madness. The walls, once peeling green wallpaper, were freshly painted white, the doors no longer dark oak but a similar, minimalistic white. The large, overhead chandelier was positively gleaming, and the marble floors, once covered by a shabby carpet, appeared so positively clean you could eat your dinner on it.

"Hermione..." Narcissa muttered, seeming as shocked as I felt, "The portraits." I turned to where she was pointing and noticed that, despite every golden-framed portrait looking spectacular and gleaming, they were empty. Every single one of them.

Of all the portraits, the most prominent was the largest, most regal - the portrait of Walburga Black, one whom I had encountered many times before, and had received my fair share of abuse from. I could feel, somehow, that Narcissa wanted to get closer, that something about the portrait was bugging her, so I took the first step and walked cautiously down the hallway until I was standing, looking up at the oppressive, dark background of the painting.

We stayed silent for a few moments. Something inside of me was telling me that Narcissa wanted to stay here, that she felt that this was important somehow. Then, a silky voice entered my mind - it was Narcissa. 'Stay very still, Mione. Don't move'

A second passed. Then another.

All of a sudden, someone appeared in the portrait. A woman I recognised very well despite it being over a decade since I last saw her. Walburga Black. She wore a Victorian-era widowers dress, black yet elegant, the collar so high it almost reached her chin. Walburga was old, but not past 60, and might have been beautiful were it not for the decades of spite and darkness that invaded her eyes, casting shadows upon her porcelain face.

Now, however, those eyes held something I had never, ever seen before.

Fear.

Walburga Black was _terrified_. So terrified, in fact, that she was shaking violently, her skin now a pallid grey and her raven hair sticking out in odd places.

"Auntie..." Narcissa whispered, her posture now rigid and her voice much colder and sharper than previously.

"Cissy, my dear Cissy, Cissy, Cissy," Walburga began to rock back and forth, muttering that same word over and over again, the whites of her eyes shining in the darkness of her portrait.

"Come on. Let's search the house." I muttered uncomfortably, realising I would actually have preferred for insults to be thrown at me instead of... whatever this was. With a flick of our wands, our Muggle clothing was gone and we wore our Kevlar suits with our robes on top.

On one side of the hallway was the dining room, which we found was empty. This room, too, appeared to have gone under some sort of renovation. The dresser holding the Black family crest and china still stood proudly against the wall, but the walls had a light blue, fresh wallpaper and everything was remarkably clean. Cream curtains hung tastefully from the ceiling as a large window bathed the dining room with light, the sun shining down on a long wooden table, a fresh bouquet of flowers in the middle.

"This doesn't feel right." Narcissa muttered, and I had to agree. This was not Harry's doing - not in the slightest.

A door at the far end of the entry hall revealed a set of narrow stone stairs leading to the basement and the house’s kitchen. Though less ornate than the floors above, the kitchen was still a large, cavernous room with a fireplace at the far end.

Iron pots and pans hung from the ceiling above, and a long wooden table sat in the centre of the room, large enough to fit more than a dozen people around it for a meal. Shuddering, I looked around. It was almost unrecognisable now, so clean it was sparkling, not a cobweb in sight. The room had a gloomy feeling when it was occupied by the Order of the Phoenix, a feeling I remembered all too well but was no where to be found now.

We returned to the hallway, at the end of which were the stairs to the upper floors. They were still decorated with a row of shrunken house-elf heads, mounted on the wall on plaques, and even Narcissa, who had resorted back to her ice-cool demeanour I had not seen for a while, shuddered visibly. It was unnecessarily macabre.

We merely poked our heads inside two of the doors on the first floor - a bathroom, now modern and gleaming, fitted with a large, black, marble bath, and a bedroom I recalled Ginny and I had once slept in, looking much more comfortable than it once had.

"Gosh..." Narcissa muttered as we stepped inside the drawing room. It now screamed opulence, decorated with a Gryffindor-esque theme of red and gold. The walls were a deep crimson, the ceiling covered in thousands of golden leaves which, if I was not mistaken, appeared to flutter slightly. Empty paintings adorned the walls, with large windows overlooking the street in front of the house, a large fireplace flanked by two ornate glass-fronted cabinets, and an entire wall covered with a tapestry of the Black family tree, which to my surprise had not been taken down. It was the only thing left to signify we had not broken into a strangers house, as this place was so utterly different from what I remembered.

The second floor was slightly less recognisable, containing more than one bedroom similar to the one on the floor below - a double bed with crisp white sheets, white walls, lofty ceilings, a carved wooden wardrobe and empty portraits on the walls.

From the landing on the second floor, it was possible to look down over the bannisters and see the top of anyone’s head who was standing in the front entrance hall, and I glanced over as we continued up to the third floor, seeing that Walburga was now wailing loudly, sobbing in her frame.

The third floor was much the same, but when we reached the fourth and final floor and entered one of the bedrooms, I could see now that something was different. This room was different. The fresh, white sheets on the bed were thrown back and unmade, and a pair of sunglasses lay discarded on the bedside table. The curtains were open but not tucked back, and they revealed a wonderful view of London. This room was lived in.

Wandering over to the glasses, I examined them. "These are for a man, I think." I concluded, noting the designer brand - whoever owned these was wealthy.

"And this is for a woman." Narcissa responded, standing beside the dressing table, a dainty watch in her hand.

"Oh my God." I whispered, quickly walking over, gently holding Narcissa's hand in my own to examine the watch she held.

"What is it?"

"Of course," I scoffed, "Of course. My ex-husband is already shacked up with another woman, and he's re-gifted the watch he gave me for my 30th birthday."

"Oh, Mione." Narcissa sighed, placing the watch down. She took me in her arms, embracing me in a surprising, but warm, hug. Had we ever even hugged before? I wasn't sure, and felt that it was uncharacteristic for the woman, but it was not uncomfortable - in fact, it was quite pleasant, as was the blush on Narcissa's face as she pulled back and smiled gently.

A few minutes of silence passed as we searched the room carefully, trying not to misplace anything, but there wasn't a single thing we could find that hinted at the woman's identity. However, we did find something else.

"Hermione," Narcissa said, using my full name as she began to shake slightly. The blonde was trembling, biting her lip, a whimper escaping her mouth, "Hermione."

"What's wrong?" I appeared beside her, a piece of parchment in her outstretched hand. It was a letter.

　

 

_Persephone,_

 

_So far we have been unsuccessful - yet again. We have everyone looking for him - Aurors included, but he appears to have disappeared. This cannot continue. He needs to be located._

_If we don't find him, dearest, everything we have worked towards will be for nothing. That cannot be allowed to happen. We already have the Granger girl and the traitor Narcissa exactly where we need them. The plan is beginning to form, and if we do not find him it won't be able to take place at all._

_We will be searching Egypt next. If we do not find Draco Malfoy within the next two months, I'm sending out an order to the Muggle Secret Services, and they won't be taking him in alive, that's for sure._

_Stay strong, little dove._

 

_Ares_

　

 

"They... They can't take my son," she whispered, her voice hoarse, "They can't."

"Narcissa, listen," I grasped her shoulders gently, looking into her deep blue eyes, eyes which now swum with tears, "Whatever this is, whatever we have come across - this letter was dated a month ago. We were involved before we even knew it. A month ago I hadn't even seen you since the war. We have something to do with this whether we like it or not, and so does your son. We can either sit here and cry, or we can do something about it. Got it?"

"Got it." Narcissa responded, and there was something else in her voice now. Determination. And it was refreshing.

Heading back downstairs, we reached the second floor. Standing at the top of the final flight of stairs, I held on to Narcissa to stop me from crashing to the ground as I looked over the banister to the grand entranceway below.

There, sitting in a rickety, wooden wheelchair was Harry Potter.

"Harry." I whispered, descending the stairs slowly as if approaching a frightened animal. The whole time, his eyes had not reached mine. Turning, he pushed the wheelchair. Feeling as if we could not do much else, we followed him through a door I had not noticed before, a door that was not here during the war.

"What the..." Narcissa trailed off, looking around. The three of us barely fit inside the room so small it might as well have been a cupboard. It was so narrow, the single bed beside us touched both walls and there was no other furniture, just enough room for Harry's wheelchair. I did not even know he used one.

"Harry-" I began, but before I could say any more, Narcissa had dragged me back into the corridor.

"He's under a spell, Mione."

"What - no he isn't," I frowned, "This is his own fault, Narcissa," I sighed, thinking of the shell he had become, "He drunk himself into a stupor. Couldn't handle the fame, didn't want help. Pushed us all away," I shrugged, "It's his own fault. Now let me go." I moved my shoulder, but she was clutching my robe tightly and I was unable to escape.

"No, Hermione," Narcissa growled, looking angry now, "He's fucking cursed! Open your eyes dammit!" she seethed, swearing for the very first time since we had met in Greece two or so weeks ago.

"Woah! Calm down," I frowned, "I think I know my ex best friend more than you do, Cissa."

"No," she hissed, "I know a curse when I see one, Mione, look at where I grew up! Look at my family. In fact, _look around_. We walked through this whole house. Have you seen a single bottle? Empty or full? If he was an alcoholic, he would probably be drinking right now, or at least have a flask at hand. And he doesn't."

"What?" I whispered, my heart beginning to pound so hard I thought it might burst out of my ribcage.

"Mione, do you not think there's a reason I was portrayed as so impenetrably cold? So closed off? It wasn't just my upbringing. Lucius cursed me when I was only 17 so that I was unable to ever become close to someone. That my iciness would drive them away. Trust me, I know that look. In his eyes. I doubt he's ever touched a drop of alcohol in the past few years. Look at him," she pointed into what was essentially a cupboard, "He's all skin and bone, I doubt he's even been fed."

"Christ, we need to get him out of here."

"I don't know if that's the best idea. We don't want to paint an even bigger target on our backs." Narcissa frowned, but a moment later she glanced up and saw the look in my eyes and not long later we had Harry's arms wrapped around our waist as there was a pop and we disappeared. Just before we left, a wail filled the corridor.

"Please!" Walburga screeched, "Please don't leave me with them! _PLEASE_!"

 

\--

 

For the third time we had a man in the Sun room who was not entirely there by free will. I could see it now, and it terrified me. The black eye. The bruises around his wrists and ankles. The weight loss, the unwashed hair. Pyxis appeared, padding into the sun room. He nudged at Harry's feet, and Harry did not notice.

"Harry..." I whispered, "What happened?"

"Ron," he mumbled, "Don't, no, don't, please!" Harry began to talk incoherently, before he stopped suddenly. His eyes flickered up to mine for the first time in seven years, and I flinched. They were swirling pools of darkness, hopelessness and despair, and they looked straight through me as if I wasn't even there.

Then his cracked lips opened wide and he began to scream, flailing wildly in his wheelchair, thrashing so hard the wood splintered and dug into his skin, cutting up his arms leaving tiny droplets of blood.

"Stupefy." Narcissa said calmly, and silence once more enveloped us once more as he lay unconscious. Casting a diagnostic charm, the blonde gasped, stepping back. "They - they bound his legs," she choked out, "He doesn't even need the wheelchair!"

 _'They'_ , I thought. Ronald, of course - but who was the other?

"Can you reverse it?" I questioned.

"Yes, I think so." Narcissa muttered, and I could feel her going through all the spells she had studied when she had wanted to be a healer. A moment later, the cuts on his arms were gone, but aside from that, he didn't look much different. "I removed the binding," she explained, "And it should only take three or so days of rehabilitation for his legs to work again with the use of magic, and a few potions I can get a hold of. But you should know..." she trailed off, looking regretful.

"What is it?"

"The wheelchair... well, it appears he's been in it for over thirteen years. Whatever's going on has been going on for a long, long time."

　

\--

　

A week passed, and Harry was finally walking but we still couldn't get him to talk aside from incoherent mumbling. We were in the Moon room when the curse was finally broken. Harry was sat silently on a stool, staring off into the distance. On the ground was a decoration of various ancient runes, the symbols forming a circle around the Boy Who Lived. Narcissa began to chant as I watched on in silence. I was just as proficient as her in the subject, especially after our bonding, but we agreed for Narcissa to do this alone as I was shaking too much to perform a basic Expelliarmus.

 

 

_"By the light of moon's wane_

 

_Cleanse his soul of this stain_

 

_Let the spell be reversed_

 

_Lift away this dark curse_

 

_As I enter sacred space_

 

_Return his soul to grace"_

 

 

There was silence as Narcissa used her wand to levitate a glowing potion to his lips. As soon as he swallowed it, every single vein in his body began to thrum and turn a vibrant gold, until his face and neck was covered in pulsating golden lines.

An hour passed, and the gold had finally dissipated. Harry stood up. The runes faded away. A cloud in his eyes seemed to have lifted.

"Hermione." he whispered. He was back.

 


	11. Chapter 11

There was a small pop as we appeared outside a set of large, wrought iron gates. They were wrapped in ivy, and with a tap of Narcissa's wand, the ivy receded, allowing her to push open the gates. Today she wore a set of dark green robes, likely from her Malfoy Matriarch days, as the fabric was so intricately woven it had to have been hand made and expensive.

Narcissa had lent me a set of her robes, perhaps the most extravagant I had ever worn. They were a deep shade of royal blue and I myself feeling quite royal as I walked beside her. There was another set of footsteps with us as we strode up the gravel driveway. Harry Potter, The Boy Who Lived or, most recently, The Boy Who Drank as Rita Skeeter herself had named him. He wore a set of black robes, his hair carefully combed, most of the colour having returned to his cheeks. He was still littered with bruises, now concealed with a glamour charm, and walked with a slight limp, but it was a far cry from how we had found him three weeks ago.

The Manor we strode towards was not as big as Malfoy Manor, and not as opulent as Black Manor - the image of which was only in my head due to the bond - but it was still incredibly impressive, built with blinding white stone that seemed to glow in the sun, and impossibly manicured, green gardens.

Narcissa only knocked on the door once, but it swung open almost immediately. A woman stood before us, dressed in a white sheath dress and white heels. She was incredibly beautiful, with high cheekbones, full lips and long, platinum blonde hair.

"Astoria, hello."

"Narcissa," she spoke gently, but her voice was clear, "It's good to see you. I only just received your owl, but I understand it was of some urgency."

"Indeed."

"Please, come in."

Hours passed sat in her drawing room, large and opulent yet warm and homely. Oddly, she reminded me of Narcissa - elegant, refined and aristocratic, however, there was one key difference between the two - Astoria was happy. It was almost like she was what Narcissa could have been, had her parents not chosen such a madman as her husband; had her parents not been such madmen themselves. Astoria had a husband, a tall, handsome, dark haired man who only popped his head in once to say hello, and two blonde, equally pretty children with bright happy smiles who sat with us, too young to understand what was going on.

"Here." Astoria said. We had caught up, we had talked, she understood why we had come. And now she was handing us a book. I didn't know what was in it - neither did Harry. Narcissa barely glanced at it, tucking it away in her robes. It was time to go. Standing up, Narcissa embraced the blonde as Harry lifted the child from where it was bouncing happily in his lap and placed the boy gently on the ground, a soft smile on his face.

"Thank you for your help." I said genuinely, placing two kisses in the air beside her face.

"I hope to see you soon." said the kind woman.

Before long we found ourselves back in the Sun room. Immediately, the three of us headed to the spare room and onto the roof, down into the Moon room to take a seat at the conference table.

Narcissa sat at the head of the table, with Harry on her right and me on her left, placing the book in front of her. It was black leather and thick, with no title or author emblazoned on the front, almost like a diary. Opening it, however, revealed it was no ordinary book. Someone had cut out the inside so that there was a rectangular hole in the middle. Sat there, staring back at us, was a small piece of purple paper. I found myself wincing slightly, thinking there must have been a better way of disguising a piece of bloody paper than cutting a book apart. It might have been a really interesting book, too.

"Coordinates." Harry said, reading the numbers. Silently, Narcissa brought out a small, square device from her bag, almost like a calculator. Punching in the numbers, she placed it down and plugged a wire into it, and the cinema screen beside us came to life. It showed a map of Greece, and I finally found out where we were. We appeared to be on an island named 'Oia', although I had never heard of it before.

Gradually, the map began to zoom out, going so far out we were outside the atmosphere, before turning around the globe and heading towards America.

"New York City," Narcissa cocked an eyebrow, "Of course."

Before I knew it, our belongings were packed away in my pouch and we were stood in an airport. We had decided that travelling by portkey was too risky as we didn't want to be picked up by Magical Border control, so bought tickets for the next flight out to New York, deciding to fly from Edinburgh. Muggle London was crawling with Witches and Wizards, and although it would be the same in Birmingham, hopefully there would be less we might know.

"Don't worry, the pouch won't show up on any scans," I muttered to Narcissa, noticing her gaze darting down to where I clutched it in my hand, "As far as they're concerned, it has some cotton buds, my earphones and my passport."

"Okay." she nodded. In Birmingham, we had bought suitcases and muggle clothes to fill them, so that we would draw less attention to ourselves. Hours later, we were finally on the plane. Narcissa had, of course, gotten first class tickets because the idea of travelling in economy was utterly preposterous to her. We each had our own cubicle, but Narcissa had made the decision that it would be 'safer' for her to stay in mine, so when the Air Hostess flattened the two chairs into a double bed for us, half of the ten hour flight was spent with Narcissa tucked in my arms.

"Hey." I said, sliding into Harry's cubicle. I perched on the edge of the bed, eyeing the man I had known since I was 11 years old.

"Hullo, Hermione." Harry responded in a soft voice, smiling gently.

"How, um- how you holdin up?" I asked awkwardly, shifting slightly.

"How do you think?" he cocked an eyebrow, leaning back. I shuffled further onto the bed and began to play with the corner of the duvet, looking anywhere but my friends green eyes.

"What did he do to you?"

"It's not as bad as it seems," Harry admitted honestly, "If I had been lucid the whole time I honestly think I would have been too mentally unstable to come along. But the curse made it so half the time, I had no idea where I was. I barely remember anything, in fact I don't even remember being in pain that much. I was... completely out of it."

"Oh, Harry." I whimpered, a tear leaking from my eye, "I can't - I just can't get my head around it. You were always the one that believed. You always believed in everyone, relentlessly. Never giving up hope, always willing to see the best in people. And one sign of alcoholism and I turn my back on you."

"Mione," he took my hand in his gently, "The past is the past. We shouldn't dwell on it. There are larger forces at play here, and I need to warn you... We can't underestimate Ron. Whatever this organisation is, he's in deep."

　

* * *

 

"This is it?" I frowned, glancing up. We stood on a street in central New York City. It was cold, but the sun was out and it was as busy as ever, the sidewalk crowded as we stood in front of what appeared to be a nightclub.

"Well, we're not getting in tonight looking like this." I muttered, glancing down at my jeans and trainers. Narcissa, obviously, was in a pencil skirt and heels, but even so she wouldn't fit in at the club.

"Shopping?" Narcissa asked hopefully, looking excited.

"Um, well, we... I was thinking we could check into the hotel," I glanced down at our suitcases, "I'm sure we can put together an outfit from what's in our bags."

"Nonsense!" Narcissa declared.

"I'm personally leaning towards shopping." Harry shrugged.

"It would be much more practical not to spend any more money."

"Darling," Narcissa tilted my chin upwards with a single finger, a gleam in her eye, "Practicality is not my strong suit, you should know that by now. Come on, I think I spotted a Dolce & Gabbana store a few blocks down."

"Ooh, Dolce & Gabbana!" I mimicked, rolling my eyes as Harry laughed and followed the blonde woman. We momentarily ducked into an alleyway, shrinking the suitcases to fit in my pouch before continuing along.

We arrived at the nightclub at around 11, and it was dark as Harry and I headed towards the back of the growing line.

"We're not queuing." Narcissa scoffed, raising an eyebrow. I properly took in her outfit for the first time - she wore thigh high black boots with a leather pencil skirt and a silk black blouse, her hair in an elegant updo. Harry wore a shirt and trousers, and I had on a tight red bodycon with matching heels.

"What - how will we get in?"

"Because I'm a Black. Black's don't queue, Harry." Narcissa huffed. When we approached the door, she said her name and we were immediately let in. I noticed a pride flag hung above the door.

"Bloody woman." I muttered, grimacing at the glares we received from the people shivering in the line.

It wasn't long before we spotted him. Narcissa gripped my arm so tightly I thought it might draw blood. Her skin became a deathly pale colour and her eyes began to shine with tears.

"Look how good he looks," she sniffed, "I taught him well."

She was right. He did look good. And she was not alone in her thoughts, as I noticed a significant amount of men glancing his way as Draco Malfoy stood at the bar, drink in his hand, chatting to a tall, muscular, dark-skinned man. Draco was dressed in black ripped jeans, a black button up and a red blazer with black trainers and a gold necklace around his neck, just as cool and confident as he always had been. It was different now, though. There was no arrogance, and his skin was pale but glowing with happiness.

"I'll get us some drinks!" Harry shouted over the din of the music, disappearing to the other end of the bar. Narcissa and I were swallowed up into the crowd, losing sight of Draco as our bodies were suddenly pressed up against each other. I felt a hand on my waist and another cupping my bum possessively, rage filling me as I tried to find the culprit. Then I followed the arms, which were connected to shoulders, which connected the body of Narcissa Black, and her heady focus was steadily on me as she began to sway to the beat.

We danced for a few songs before we left the crowd, sweaty and breathing heavily, only to look over and see Draco and Harry. Together. Doing shots of tequila. Narcissa eyed me, and I could hear her asking if we should go over, although her lips didn't move. She seemed nervous, and I nodded, taking her hand, pulling her towards the bar.

"Sorry to interrupt," I placed a hand on Harry's shoulder as Draco dropped his shot glass in shock, "But I believe we have some things to discuss. Nice hair, by the way. Let's go." Under the light of the bar, I could see now that his hair was a light shade of pastel pink.

"Thanks." he muttered wryly, following us out of the back door.

"Hoping to get the alcoholic drunk and sneak away into the night, Malfoy?" I questioned, the four of us now stood in the empty car park at the back of the club.

"Well, he's not exactly known for his good deeds anymore, is he?" Draco retorted, "And it's Black now."

"Whatever," I sighed as Harry steadied himself on my arm, looking slightly green, "Can we go somewhere more..." Looking around, I wrinkled my nose, "Clean?"

"Fine. There's a Wendy's around the corner, let's go there."

"A what?"

"It's a fast food restaurant." he explained, looking irritated at our ambushing of his night. I was surprised someone like Draco would be seen dead in a fast food place, but followed him anyway. We walked, or - in Harry's case - stumbled, down the street in silence, Draco a few paces behind. Narcissa had been silent the whole time, and I turned to her, gently slipping my arm in hers.

"How you feeling?"

"How do you think?" she muttered in response without taking her eyes off of the man in front of us. We took a seat in a booth, all of us ordering nothing heavier than a drink. Harry only had a glass of water, and Narcissa and I nursed a cup of hot tea as Draco sipped from a glass of Diet Coke.

"So," I began, getting straight to business, "What do you know of an organisation called The Emunctoria's?"

Draco blinked. Then blinked again. His face seemed to turn an ashy grey, and a shadow came over his eyes.

"I-I don't think it was the best idea to come here." he muttered, and I watched the pink-haired boy edge out of his seat until I jabbed my wand on his knee under the table.

"Don't move, Black."

"Fine," he said warily, "I've never heard of them, ok? Now let me go!"

"You clearly have," I sighed, "We aren't working for them."

"We're... investigating them." Harry explained.

"We recovered a letter," I explained, taking it out of my pocket. Flattening it on the table, I slid it over to Draco and watched him read it, "So, let me ask again. What do you know of an organisation called the Emunctoria's?"

"We can't talk about it here," Draco whispered, all of a sudden reverting back to the scared child that had lost his innocence, standing beside Voldemort at the end of the final battle, "We need to go somewhere safe."

I felt Narcissa probing at my mind and let her in, **'Should we take him to Greece?'** she questioned silently, and I nodded surreptitiously in response. Harry seemed to know what we were thinking, so I threw a few dollar bills on the table and got up to leave.

That was when I saw, through the reflection of a metallic napkin dispenser, a man watching us at the back of the Wendy's. He had brown hair, an unremarkable face, and was dressed all in grey.

"They've found us. Let's split up and go to the toilets, there's windows in there I saw earlier we can squeeze out of." I muttered, trying not to move my lips. Draco couldn't possibly look more terrified, and I wondered briefly if I was biting off more than I could chew. But it was done now, I was involved whether I liked it or not, so Draco and Harry headed into the men's and Narcissa and I headed into the women's.

"Quickly." I muttered, wrenching the tiny, rectangular window open after shutting the cubicle door. A white cat jumped onto the ledge, and a Bowtruckle gripped onto it's collar as it leapt down from the high window onto a metal bin before landing gracefully on the ground.

Draco was just squeezing his whole body through the window as we saw him, and when we were all standing there, panting slightly, they turned to me.

"What?" I questioned.

"Well, you seem to be the unofficial leader here..." Draco trailed off, "So what next?"

"Um," I blinked, unsure of how my leadership qualities were better than Narcissa's, for example, "Greece?"

"Yes." Narcissa nodded, and Harry seemed to agree.

"Greece, yeah right," Draco laughed, "No, seriously, what's the plan?"

"Greece." I shrugged. As I took Draco's arm and Narcissa took Harry's, preparing to Apparate, a blast of hot air shot right by my face and I watched a green killing curse land harmlessly on the ground. Whipping around, I found myself face to face with around thirty men and women - all dressed in grey, all exactly the same. All trying to kill us.

"We need them alive, okay?" someone hissed loudly, and immediately Narcissa and I were standing in our Kevlar suits, the cloaks we had discovered in Gringott's around us and our wands outstretched. It was at least 7 or 8 of them to one of us, and I tried to ignore the panic rising in me as we faced them down. 

A moment of silence.

Then I was fighting for my life as a barrage of spells rained down upon us and we ducked for cover in the Wendy's parking lot, hiding behind stinking bins and low brick walls.

"We aren't going to make it!" I said, desperately flinging curses at the advancing group.

"I hate to say it, but... You're right!" Narcissa responded through gritted teeth, as a particularly strong stupefy took out two identical women.

"The weapons!" I suddenly said, digging in my pouch as Narcissa took over, covering me.

"Harry! Draco!" I shouted, and they both turned to me from where they were hidden behind a large dumpster. As spells flew over me, I dug in the trunk and pulled out the first weapons I could get my hands on, not thinking much about what I was doing. Sliding them across the floor, I turned to grab my own just as a bright blue spell exploded past my face, scorching a cut across my cheek. It seared with pain, but I had no time to pay attention to it as Narcissa had grabbed a bow and her arrows and I picked up a two handed sword, not being able to make much of it out in the darkness.

Narcissa eyed me. A sword wouldn't do much use unless in close combat. The grey men and women were advancing quickly, but no where near close enough for me. I noticed Harry and Draco both held swords, and they grimaced as our eyes caught each other and we knew what to do.

I had never used a sword before, and I had no clue what I was doing, but we were losing this fight and I decided... well, you only live once, right?

"Go!" I screamed, charging forward with Harry on my right and Draco on my left, a steady stream of arrows covering us as the group we ran towards ducked for cover.

Then there was a woman in front of me, a brown mole on her face, and she was screaming as she hurled spell after spell at me, each one I neatly dodged. There was not much time to think about the way the blade sliced into her throat and how she fell to the floor with a piercing wail. I was on to the next. It had come to me suddenly that I would do absolutely anything to protect Narcissa. Absolutely anything at all.

Silence fell upon us, and I looked around, realising we were surrounded by dead and unconscious bodies. I had killed before, during the war, but that had been many, many years ago, and the sick feeling that rose in my throat despite the evil intentions of these men and women was difficult to ignore.

All of a sudden, some of the bodies surrounding us began to glow a silvery shade of white, and we all immediately raised our weapons.

"The dead ones," Narcissa said blandly, "Their masks have come off."

She was right. All around us, the bodies that had been killed and not just knocked unconscious were now dressed in various different clothing and their faces were no longer similar. Most of them I didn't recognise. But some I did.

"Pansy..." Draco whispered in horror, kneeling above the friend from his childhood. I had no love lost for the girl after she had made my Hogwarts days hell, but I was an adult now and the look of someone that had been a prominent figure in my younger days now lying on the concrete, blood pooling around where she had hit her head when she fell, was enough to make a tear slip from my eye. Narcissa appeared to be trying not to attach herself too much to the scene, as she stepped over the bodies and bound the unconscious ones, but Harry was stood to the side, silent and alone.

"Harry." I whispered, approaching him cautiously.

"Sorry," he looked away, the sweat on his forehead glistening in the moonlight, "Everything is just a little bit... well, it feels like my life has been turned upside down, like I've been shoved into a parallel universe. And I - I killed someone, Mione, that's... that's not me."

"You did what you had to do, Harry. It was either you or them, and sometimes you have to accept that."

"I know that, but... I still don't believe there's any justification for it."

"You're right," I sighed, "You're right."

All of a sudden, Draco appeared beside us, and Narcissa strode over, "They call themselves Alsayadins," he explained, looking tired and worn, "Employed by the Emunctoria's."

"Arabic for 'Hunters', if I'm not mistaken?" I translated, ignoring the burning in my cheeks when Narcissa raised an eyebrow, impressed.

"Indeed." Draco nodded. His eyes fell to Pansy once more, and it was almost like I could see the dark cloud of grief hanging over his head.

"Did you keep in touch with Pansy after the war?" I questioned lightly, concerned for the man.

"I was the one who got her into this mess in the first place." Draco muttered, tears pooling in his eyes.

"What do you mean?" his mother asked with a frown.

"I found out about the Emunctoria's. I met someone in the Leaky Cauldron who introduced me. I didn't want to go alone, so Pansy came with me. She was only trying to do right by a friend. Well... she was like a sister to me."

"I was always fond of the girl, in her later years at least." Narcissa smiled softly. It was odd, but I felt a strong sense of grief too, even though the girl had made me miserable more times than I could remember. I realised perhaps it was the bond, and I was taking on some of Narcissa's grief. I hoped my general neutrality towards the situation would calm her down slightly.

"I've grieved for her once before. She's the only reason I got out - Pansy. Sacrificed herself for me to help me escape. I had always thought they would have killed her," he admitted, "I really did. That broke me. It's taken me so long to move on, and now... this."

"Come on. We need to get out of here." Harry grimaced as sirens wailed overhead.

"Greece?" Narcissa questioned.

"Greece." I nodded. A moment later, we were twisting into oblivion.

"Bloody hell, it's hot." Harry grumbled, looking around in awe. We stood on the doorstep of Narcissa's villa, the sun beating down heavily as it always did. The blonde and I were fine in our Kevlar suits, as they regulated our temperature, but Draco and Harry were worse off in their heavy robes.

"Come on," Narcissa turned to me, "We'll go straight to the Moon room."

"Moon what?" Draco blinked but followed us to the roof, as both he and Harry kept staring around the house.

"Bloody hell, Ms Black, you have quite the house." He muttered as we stood in the Moon room, the screen lighting up before us. Harry, Draco and I stood up as Narcissa walked around the table, a small remote in her hand.

"We found this," she clicked a button and the document we had found showed up, "In Ronald Weasley's office at the ministry. He had gotten rid of the ink, but Hermione saw that it had your name on it, Harry."

"That's how you knew to find me."

"Yes." I responded to the dark haired man.

"And Draco," Narcissa continued, "This letter was found at Ronald Weasley's place of residence. Grimmauld place."

"Grimmauld place?" Draco frowned, glancing at Harry who sat impassively, staring straight ahead, not giving anything away.

"Yes. And he lived there with someone else, too. A woman, but we don't know who." I added.

"A woman." Harry suddenly muttered.

"Yes, a woman - did you encounter her? What did she look like?" Narcissa questioned.

"I... I don't remember - I remember her presence. I remember how angry she was... she had so much anger. But there was always Ron there. Wiping my memories. Reinforcing the curse." Harry began to tremble, and I couldn't disguise my sorrow, nor my surprise as Draco placed a hand on Harry's in a comforting gesture.

"It was Mr Weasley's curse?" Narcissa questioned with a frown, coming to sit at the table.

"Yes. Why?"

"It was a powerful curse, one I have not encountered before. I'm surprised I was able to lift it. All along, I had assumed this woman, whoever she is, was a powerful witch and had cast it. If it was Ronald, I believe we may have underestimated him."

"I fear he is much more involved in this organisation than originally anticipated." I said gravely.

"Well, great," Draco flopped back in his chair, "I was having such a good night, too. Such a good life, really. Now all this shit has started up again."

"They would have found you regardless," Narcissa shook her head, "I don't deny we led them to you, and I am sorry for that... but this organisation, they're massive-"

"That's what she said." I giggled and Harry gave a snort as Narcissa shot us a glare. Draco began to snigger too, and she rolled her eyes in exasperation.

"As I was saying, _children_ ," she scowled, "They're a large organisation. We need to get to the root - who runs it, who started it, and why. Three questions we don't know the answer to."

"Another question," Harry added, "How did they actually find us in the first place?"

"Perhaps they didn't follow us there. Perhaps they were already searching for Draco, and we were spotted. As you said, they're a large organisation, they have spies all over the world."

"You're right, I think, Mione." Narcissa nodded.

"Mione?" Harry mouthed to Draco, scrunching up his nose as he grinned, "Ow!" he squealed as I elbowed the young man in the ribs. Narcissa coughed, hiding her smirk.

"So where do we start? We have no leads." I frowned.

"No, actually, I believe we do. The weapons," Narcissa looked around, her eyes gliding over the swords we had placed on the floor when entering, "They were essentially given to me by Dumbledore. So our first start? Hogwarts."

 


	12. Chapter 12

Night had fallen. Narcissa, Harry, Draco and I stood at the edge of the forbidden forest clad in Kevlar body suits, the four cloaks from the chest, and our weapons.

We had stuck with the weapons I had haphazardly handed out in the car park behind Wendy's - Draco had two, brilliant, blindingly white katanas which were now strapped to his back. I held a longsword in two hands, the edge of the blade deliberately jagged, the handle golden and entwined with a brilliant red. Narcissa's bow was silver and blue, the quiver strapped to her back filled with silver tipped arrows.

Harry's sword was perhaps the grandest of them all. He held it on one hand, the blade glinting viciously in the moonlight. The hilt of the sword was a venomous green, entwined with strands of white and gold, ancient engravings on the blade in emerald I had never before seen in my life. We had tried translating it, but it was almost as if it was made up - random symbols and swooping letters that held no discernible pattern.

Our cloaks flapped in the wind as a rumble of thunder sounded above. Hogwarts stood tall and proud, a magnificent castle, the turrets reaching out towards the heavens. The sky above was grey as we walked for ten minutes until we arrived beneath the Covered Bridge, a stretch of wooden beams across the large ravine beside Hogwarts.

"It's around here somewhere." I heard Narcissa mutter. We stood in the depths of the ravine, watching Narcissa tap her wand against the rock face for a passage she claimed she had used a child.

"Aha!" Harry shouted with a grin as a door appeared in the rock and Narcissa pushed it open. The door revealed a set of steps so long they faded into a fog in the distance, lit along the walls by flaming torches.

"Hello no." Draco muttered. A moment later, there was a broom in each of our hands after Draco had summoned the rickety old things from the boathouse.

"Last to the top is a Murtlap!" Harry grinned, leaping onto his broom as a look of pure determination crossed Draco's face and he soon disappeared after the black-haired man.

"Men." Narcissa muttered, shaking her head. I glanced down at my own broom distrustfully, and the blonde gave me a gentle smile. "Hop on mine?"

"Thanks. Brooms aren't really my thing." I climbed on behind her.

"Who would have thought?" Narcissa sassed, and before I could give a response we were speeding up the steps, Harry and Draco too far in the distance to be visible.

I hadn't realised my eyes had been shut until I opened them and was faced with a smirking Draco and irritated Harry, who had his arms folded crossly on his chest in the middle of a dark hallway. Beginning to get my bearings, there was a scraping sound and behind me a statue moved into place, hiding the doorway.

"It's a one way passage," Narcissa said gravely, "We will need to find another way out."

"Thanks for telling me that before I agreed to this." Harry rolled his eyes.

"Don't be such a wimp, Potter."

"Oh, back to Potter is it, Malfoy?"

"God, it's like being back at school again." I groaned, putting my head in my hands.

"Right. You two, head to the library. We will go to the Headmaster's office and speak to Dumbledore's painting. Keep the communication lines open." Narcissa tapped her earring, and Draco and Harry both nodded, each having one of their ears pierced with a small stud so that they could communicate with us in case something happened. Draco's ear was already pierced, obviously - it was Draco - but it had been a challenge getting Harry to agree.

We split up, now on the far side of Hogwarts from the bridge in the Transfiguration corridor.

"Cissa!" I hissed, tugging her into an alcove. We were pressed up against each other in the dim light as the sound of two pairs of footsteps echoed around us.

"At least take me out for dinner first, Granger." the blonde smirked.

"Shut it, Black." I muttered, popping my head out. Two prefects disappeared around the corner and we began to move again, silent in the moonlight.

"This is the first time we've been along together for a while." Narcissa suddenly said, smiling.

"Why are you smiling? You look like a creep."

"I am a creep, Mione. I'm your creep." she grinned.

"Was that supposed to be cute? I found it mildly disturbing." I retorted, letting out a breath as we rounded a corner and there was no one there.

"I find everything you do mildly disturbing, so I suppose we're even."

"Ouch. My heart." I pouted, placing a hand on my heart. A door creaked on my left, and immediately I drew my sword, breathing heavily. 

"Don't be so nervous," the witch smiled gently after a few moments of silence in which the padding of our boots on the floor was the only noise, "We aren't enemies of Hogwarts. We're here for information, not a fight."

"Why didn't we come in broad daylight, then." I muttered grumpily.

"If the Emunctoria's can employ the Head Auror, I'm sure they can manage to wriggle in a spy or two in Hogwarts, even if it's just one of their house elves or an older student. Don't forget what happened in your first year here."

"Quirrell," I muttered, "Although, Minerva isn't trying to fight a war or prevent the rise of a dark lord. She can focus on the school, not Basilisks and escaped Prisoner's of Azkaban. She's more vigilant than Dumbledore was."

"True, but better safe than sorry." Narcissa shrugged. We appeared outside the entrance to the headmasters office, facing the menacing Gargoyle of the Gargoyle Corridor. Footsteps sounded, far away but drawing closer, and my heart began to race.

This would have been the part of the Golden Trio's plan where we realise we actually didn't plan that far, and Ron, Harry and I have to fight our way out of here, miserable and unsuccessful. However, Sooky appeared beside us now, joined by another elf.

"Mistress Black, Misses Granger," Sooky bowed deeply, "I did as requested."

"Hattie is at your service, Misses." a rather short, plump young female elf bowed deeply to us, her eyes shining.

"Hello, Hattie," I smiled gently and she quivered, "We were wondering if you could tell us the password to the Headmasters office."

"H-Hattie would never betray her Masters, Misses," the elf trembled, looking terrified, and I began to deflate, "But Hogwarts is telling Hattie to help the Sun and the Moon, so Hattie is to help the Sun and the Moon!" Hattie began to mumble something before calling out, "Bizkaia Boggarts!" the name of the Spanish Quidditch team was apparently enough, as a staircase was revealed.

"Thank you, Hattie, and you, Sooky." Narcissa nodded graciously and a second later there was air where they had been standing. The footsteps were now so close we could hear voices, and we didn't stay to find out who as we clambered up the stairs and burst into the Headmasters office.

In hindsight, we should have checked whether Minerva was in her quarters or not before we arrived, but the office was empty and the door shut quietly behind me as we looked around.

"What do you think Hattie meant, the Sun and the Moon?" I frowned, looking around.

"Let's not dwell on that. It was likely just the ramblings of a scared elf, nothing more." Narcissa strode forwards as I frowned even deeper, the hints of the deep seated prejudice within the blonde seeping through in her light dismissal of Hattie.

The circular office was still as large and beautiful as it had always been, the walls still covered with portraits of old headmasters and headmistresses snoozing in their frames and the same enormous, claw-footed desk sat proudly in front of me. But the number of curious little instruments that would stand on spindle-legged tables, whirring and emitting little puffs of smoke, were gone, replaced by stacks and stacks of books, as well as more bookshelves lining the walls and stacks of neatly organised papers upon the desk. The curtains were now a bright, red tartan and the whole room held a singular, red and gold theme. She would always be a Gryffindor at heart, I thought, a soft smile coming to my face at the thought off the elderly woman.

"I never held much affection for Minerva." Narcissa said absentmindedly, flicking through some papers.

"Oh?"

"She was as bad as Snape in some cases. Far too lenient with the Gryffindor's, far too harsh on the Slytherins. Blatant favouritism. She never held much affection for me either."

"She's not as bad as Snape was," I scoffed, "That's preposterous! She's one of the best headmasters Hogwarts has ever seen!" I exclaimed. All of a sudden, the portraits began to wake up, grumbling about the disturbance of their sleep.

"Whatever you say, Hermione." Narcissa sighed, and it was as she turned to me that I was met with the steely grey eyes of Albus Dumbledore.

"Dumbledore!"

"Miss Granger, Miss Black. I've been expecting you. We don't have long," he narrowed his eyes, "I'm afraid we have traitors in our midst."

"Traitors?"

"Yes, Miss Black. I'm sure you know what I mean."

"The Emunctoria's." she muttered, shivering.

"So how do we tie into this?" I questioned, "I don't understand why this... This organisation is so intent on coming for us. Surely they have better things to do." I crossed my arms grumpily, missing Greece more than ever now.

"Hermione..." Dumbledore paused, looking grave.

"I have a feeling I'm going to need to sit down for this."

Sighing, Narcissa took a seat opposite me, behind McGonagall's desk, "And I."

"Your destinies are entwined. There is no escaping your fate. You have become targets of one of the most dangerous organisations this world has ever seen. They stand capable of wiping out the entire Muggle race, and despite the general Wizarding attitudes towards Muggles, we require them to stay alive. They keep the world moving around. Without them, we are nothing."

"I see."

"The destruction of the Muggle race will lead to the destruction of Wizard kind as we know it, Hermione," he looked me square in the eyes, then turned, "Narcissa. It is your destiny, and your destiny alone that will change this. No one else holds the power you do between you. Without you, the world will perish."

"That's cheerful," I grumbled, "So much for settling down in Greece, eh?"

"Shut up, for once, Hermione." she rolled her eyes.

"I must warn you. All is not what you think!" he hissed, "Even now, as we speak, you are in grave danger! You must go immediately! But first - there is a Prophecy about you. You must retrieve it, for if it falls into the wrong hands the result could be devastating."

"Helpful." I muttered. It was time to go, I could tell.

"Wait!" Dumbledore suddenly called out, looking perhaps more grave than he ever had, "Remember, trust no one but each other. Draco and Harry Potter, too, are your allies. There are a lot of people that would reap from your destruction. Do not forget that."

"Thank you." I said sincerely. It felt oddly like goodbye.

We stood up, but just then, the door burst open. Standing there, with fury in her eyes, was Minerva McGonagall. Filtering in behind her were three identical men, all dressed in grey.

"Alsayadins!" Narcissa hissed.

But all I could feel was the overwhelming, all consuming feeling of betrayal as my former mentor drew her wand.

"No..." I whispered. My throat was hoarse and felt almost like it might be on fire as I was dragged fiercely downwards by Narcissa. A barrage of spells shot over my head, hot like fire, and I drew my wand.

Narcissa's eyes reached mine, and there was a mischievous glint in them, "McGonagall's mine."

Then we were up and sprinting for cover either side of the room, raining spell after spell down on the unprepared group. They were strong - good fighters, and unafraid to kill like we were despite the fact that we knew their orders were to bring us in alive. But something had changed within me recently.

Something had changed, and I felt, now, more powerful than I ever had. The last battle, the last fights I had encountered I was only a child. Now I was more faster and stronger than ever before, and I did not feel the heavy burden of helping my best friend succeed. Now I had people by my side that meant I did not have to make every single decision, and it was a burden taken off of me I hadn't known I needed.

They had all fallen - every single one. The masks disappeared as they lay unconscious, the ripple of magic revealing their faces. Three, tall, ugly, brutish men stared back, fighting against the magic bonds that restrained them.

Bright, blinding lights flashed before my eyes. One headed towards me, singing my arm as I dove for cover behind a stack of old books.

"Game's up, you old hag," Narcissa cackled, her arrow pointing directly at the woman's heart. McGonagall's wand lay at Narcissa's feet, snapped in half. It was a true testament to the blonde witch - McGonagall was by far one of the most powerful duellers I had ever met, and now she stood, wandless and shaking, bested in her own office.

The pure hatred in Narcissa's eyes as her bow was stretched back was unlike anything I had ever seen the blonde feel before. It was a deep, burning emotion and I realised something needed to be done. No matter what had happened between the two women, I couldn't allow Narcissa to murder her in cold blood.

"Cissa. Don't. Please."

"Ah, Hermione Granger, of course..." McGonagall's face twisted from an ugly sneer into the kind, wise face I had always associated her with in an attempt to win me over. But it was different now - the coldness that emanated from her eyes gave away the frail woman's motives and I shook my head gently, sheathing my sword. This was not the woman I had once known, once looked up to. Once fought with. She smirked, thinking she had won me over. Through the bond, Narcissa knew what I was thinking, and lowered her bow.

Raising my wand, my gaze pierced into her own and I could see her shiver visibly.

"Minerva, what happened to you?"

"Muggles are taking over, Hermione. It's self preservation."

"You did not earn the right to refer to me so. It's Ms Granger to you, old woman," I hissed, "You're deluded. Brainwashed."

"I can see what you can't, Hermione," her eyes glinted in the candlelight, "I can see the future. And without the Emunctoria's, the future for our kind is dark."

"Whatever your beliefs, you're killing innocent people. I can't stand for that."

Then there was a whoosh as a spell was thrown through the air, "Helia!" she screamed, her final word before she dropped to the stone floor, dead.

"Narcissa!" I complained, the crumpled form of McGonagall falling revealing the blonde dusting herself off, having just cast the killing curse. "Why in Merlin's name did you do that!?" I huffed, storming towards the blonde.

"That's a story for another time."

"Tell me _right now_." I seethed, pressing my wand against her.

"Fine, fine!" she sighed, pushing my wand away, "Before the second wizarding war, I was with child. Draco was expecting a younger sister. When she was born - my god... she had the most beautiful eyes," Narcissa smiled wistfully, "Soft blonde locks, chubby little cheeks. I had always wanted a girl, especially after Lucius got the heir he wanted."

"What happened?" I frowned.

"Apparently, she was a threat to the Order of the Phoenix. Born with powers even Dumbledore couldn't comprehend. Voldemort was delighted, and I was terrified. I planned to escape with her, just as my Andy once did. But I was not quick enough - McGonagall murdered my baby in cold blood, as I watched, right in my living room. I never got the chance to kill Dumbledore myself, but this is equally satisfying."

There was a silence that fell upon us. Narcissa had a tear running down her cheek, and I felt the sudden urge to empty the contents of my stomach on the floor. "You see, Hermione, you were a child fighting an adults war. Yes, you were on the 'good' side. But you were shielded from a lot more than you realised. You were children, and you did what you believed in - fought for what you believed in. They needed the Boy Who Lived on their side, and he would go where you and the Weasley boy went, so they shielded you from the atrocities they committed."

"I can't believe it," I whispered, beginning to cry, "I-she was my school Mum. My role model. I don't..."

"Shh," Narcissa wrapped an arm around me, "We can dissect this later. Right now, we need to get out of here."

"Okay," a look of grim determination came over me now, "Let's go."

It was morning, we realised, and I had to tug Narcissa into an alcove for the third time in three minutes as a group of students walked past, heading for breakfast. Then, what looked like a patrol of Alsayadins stormed past, searching for something. Searching for us.

"The student's didn't blink an eye at them." I muttered with a frown.

"They obviously have patrols out regularly," Narcissa hissed, "We've walked straight into a trap!"

"Maybe, maybe not," I shook my head, "Maybe McGonagall is just high up the chain and has Alsayadins patrolling here. Like a stronghold."

"I hope we haven't just voluntarily gone into the lions den." Narcissa grimaced.

"Well, technically McGonagall is a Gryffindor."

"Oh, just shut up, Hermione," she grinned, and silence fell upon the corridor, "Let's go, the library is around the corner."

We crept in silence, moving comforted by each others presence. The morning sun filtered in through stained glass windows, casting multiple different colours around the room as we reached the restricted section. Narcissa and I split up, messaging the boys through our earrings. We soon all met up in the middle of the restricted section, and Harry immediately put an arm around me.

"What's wrong, Mione?" he frowned, noticing something was up.

"It's McGonagall. She's an Emunctoria. She tried to kill us. Both of us." Sighing, I leant against a bookshelf, defeated.

"Sorry." Draco said awkwardly, looking at the devastated expression on Harry's face. He, too, had looked up to McGonagall and had long seen her as a close friend.

"Let's split up. There must be something about the Emunctoria's in here." Narcissa murmured. Soon enough, I found myself in alone and in silence, quietly padding through row after row of bookshelves.

All of a sudden, the room began to glow. Sunlight filtered through a clear window and shone so bright upon me I had to shield my eyes. The magic running through my veins seemed to roar up, thrumming like it never had before, reacting to the magic that vibrated in the golden sun air.

"Helia..." came a voice, whispering and echoing all around me, "Heliaaaa..." it repeated, like a voice in my head that no one else could hear. It was that name again, a name I had never heard before McGonagall had said her last words.

"Who's there?" I called out in a harsh whisper, looking around me wildly. I drew my wand, creeping towards the source of the noise. Reaching the end of the row of shelves, I found myself facing the stone walls - despite this, however, the voice had now become a rhythm in my head, getting louder and louder.

"Helia..." it whispered, and I reached my hand out without realising what I was doing. As soon as my fingers touched the wall, there was a sound so loud I thought it would burst my ears. It was a grinding, screeching, burning, wrenching boom of rock scraping against stone floors as the very wall collapsed before my eyes. I shook with fear, expecting the Alsayadins to burst in any moment. But as I looked to my left, I saw through a gap in the shelves the pink head of Draco Malfoy. He hadn't even noticed, hadn't even lifted his head.

A path was cleared in the rubble, the gap in the wall no larger than an average doorway. I found myself on a winding path, rock, cave walls surrounding me. It was dark, no with no source of light, and I lit my wand with a silent Lumos. Moving around the corner, however, there was no need for my wand anymore. Facing me, on a podium made of glass, was a book. There was no discernible source of light, but it glowed so bright my eyes were filled with stars as I blinked. Moving closer, the heat was so strong sweat trickled down my forehead, yet I was still chilled to my bone from the previous events and shivered anyway, my hand trembling as I reached out to the book.

All of a sudden, a loud voice made me jump, my hand falling onto the leather cover, "Hermione? Where are you?" came Draco through the earrings.

"Just coming." I responded shakily. Fear overtook me, and without thinking much of what I was doing I placed the book in my pouch, shrinking the bag back into a bracelet. Leaving the cave, I found myself once more in the dusty library. Taking a look back, I watched in awe as the stonework rebuilt itself as if nothing had ever happened.

"There you are!" Harry exclaimed, the two Blacks at his side.

"Did you find anything?"

"No. Nothing." Draco responded, looking defeated.

Then we heard a noise. A scrape of a cane. The scratch of claws on the stone floor.

"McGonagall?" Harry hissed.

"Impossible." Narcissa shook her head, but even so, we reached for all of our weapons, the noise of swords being drawn from their sheaths ringing out in the silence. The sound drew closer, feeling oddly familiar.

Harry frowned, then the look of recognition crossed his face, "Calm down guys," he sighed, "I know who it is."

We lowered our weapons slightly, still alert. Moments later, Argus Filch appeared, a cat by his feet, a long wooden stick supporting his limp body. Greasy hair hung long past his eyes, and the malicious look that appeared on his face as he took us in rivalled McGonagall's.

"Filch, how lovely to see you again!" Harry grinned, "We had so many pleasant memories when I was young, didn't we?"

"The Potter boy," he sneered, "Of course it would be you. The whole castle is looking for you all," he gave a laugh that sounded oddly like a hiss, then began to wheeze slightly, doubling over, "You'll never get out alive. Imagine the Headmistress' reaction when she finds I have brought you all to her - so many detentions!" he cackled with glee.

"Detentions?" Harry looked baffled, "I would think it would be a little bit more serious than that, mate."

"Gone a bit mad, have you Filchy?" Draco snorted.

"We aren't students, Argus, we don't actually have to go with you." I rolled my eyes.

"Yes you do!" He hissed.

"As interesting as this conversation has been, Mr Filch, we're going to go," Narcissa said dismissively, "And might I suggest you wash in our absence? Your smell is beginning to make me feel rather faint." Pointing her wand at the man she sent a strong stupefy towards him and the cat.

"Ooh, burn!" I grinned, just catching Narcissa's smirk as she strode off, her cloak billowing behind her.

We left the library and entered the stone halls once again, now bathed in the morning light.

"Shit!" Harry hissed, and we ducked immediately, Narcissa, Harry and I in an alcove and Draco precariously behind a stone Gargoyle. A large group of at least 20 Male and Female Alsayadins charged past, their wands out. Only seconds later, a completely different patrol of 6 or 7 Alsayadins passed.

"Filch was right, we aren't going to make it out alive unless we think of something, and fast." Draco hissed.

"I think I have an idea," Harry frowned, "But we need to get to the Kitchens."

"The kitchens?"

"Yes," he nodded, "Does anyone have Polyjuice potion?"

"Um... no, it's not exactly something I keep in my makeup bag, Harry." Draco said sarcastically.

"Right. Dungeons first, then." he grinned.

"What a great plan." Narcissa muttered.

"Why don't we split up?" I suggested.

"Yes, because that always works in horror movies, doesn't it." Narcissa responded, and Draco sniggered.

"I don't like how you guys understand muggle culture. Go back to being oblivious, please." I grumbled.

"Well, as you asked so nicely..." the blonde witch laughed.

"Guys, we are kind of in the middle of a situation. We need to make a decision." Harry urged.

"Okay, how about Harry, you and Draco go down to the dungeons and get the potion. Hermione and I will try and get rid of as many Alsayadins as possible without being detected." Narcissa murmured as the sound of multiple footsteps drew closer. A patrol passed, and I let out a breath.

"Good idea. Try and meet back in ten. We can communicate via earrings." Harry nodded, and before long we were heading off in different directions.

"So, what do you mean by get rid?" I frowned.

"Well, find lone Alsayadins or groups of three or four, we could take those out easy. Knock them unconscious, tie them up and disillusion them in the handy alcoves we keep ducking into. That way there's less to spot us, or alternatively, less to chase us when we escape."

Then opportunity arose, and two female Alsayadins with grey robes were striding towards us. We took position hiding in the walls on opposite sides, as I watched Narcissa enchant her arrows.

**'What are you doing?'** I asked through the bond.

**'Casting a spell so the arrows don't kill, only knock them out.'** she responded without moving her lips. Moments, and two arrows, later, we had magically bonded the two women and tucked them away in the alcoves, away from prying eyes but still disillusioned just in case.

This continued as we made our way around, finding smaller groups of Alsayadins. It wasn't difficult - the castle was overrun with them.

"I didn't realise how big this organisation was." I muttered, pointing my wand at two men dressed in grey. Magical bindings appeared as they slumped together in a hidden corner, the glow of the binding disappearing and plunging us into darkness again. We stepped out into the light as a crackling came over the earrings and Draco and Harry sounded.

"Can you guys make it down to the dungeons? We need your assistance."

"We can try." Narcissa muttered in response.

"She means yes, we'll be there soon." I added, rolling my eyes at the blonde's theatrics. It shouldn't have taken long for us to get to the dungeons, however we were stopped every five minutes by the sound of footsteps. Alsayadins were an infestation; they were everywhere, inescapable. It was terrifying, too - they were all exactly the same, and it felt almost like cutting the head off of a snake only for two more to grow back.

Soon enough, we reached the dungeons and the Potions stores. Harry and Draco were stood inside.

"Ow!" I grimaced as Draco leant forward and plucked a hair from both mine and Narcissa's head, although he was much more respectful when it came to his mother. I watched them place the hairs into two glass bottles and corked them so that there were four bottles in total.

"Are you going to tell us the plan, then, Mr Potter?" Narcissa raised an eyebrow.

"Nope," he grinned, "Lets go." Striding off, Harry left the room and we exited the thankfully empty dungeons. Navigating the main castle was easier than before, as we had taken out a lot of the patrols, but we still had to be careful as there was never not an Alsayadin far from us.

Narcissa, Draco and I followed Harry down a flight of stone steps, but instead of ending up in a gloomy underground passage like the one that led to the dungeon, we found ourselves in a broad stone corridor, brightly lit with torches, and decorated with cheerful paintings that were mainly of food.

The kitchens were concealed behind a portrait of a gigantic silver fruit bowl. Harry tickled the pear in the portrait, and it turned into a large green door handle. We entered the kitchen, a gigantic, high-ceilinged room with five tables identical to the ones in the Great Hall above; they were also in the exact same position. There were large quantities of pots and pans heaped around the stone walls on counter-tops or stoves, and a large brick fireplace at the other end of the hall from the door.

Elves scurried about, continuing to prepare food all throughout the meal. Thankfully, we were not too late, and breakfast was still continuing.

"Excuse me," Harry politely stopped a house elf, but it merely threw him a glare and continued on it's way, carrying a large bowl of porridge, "Excuse me?" he tried again, and this time a different house elf stopped, looking at us curiously. "Hello, I'm Harry Potter. I was wondering if you could do us a favour?"

"Great plan," Narcissa rolled her eyes, "Of course the Elves will help us go against the Headmistress and their school."

However, as Harry leant over and whispered something in the elf's large ears it looked up at us, determined.

"A great plague has washed over Hogwarts," the elf began in a deep, shaky voice, "I would never betray by master, never, never, but my master is the castle and the students, and no one else." bowing deeply, the elf scurried away.

"What's going on?" I blinked.

"You'll see." Harry smirked and we left the kitchens, heading back up to the main school. Once again we were ducking behind alcoves and hiding behind stone statues until, not long later, we were stood in front of the portrait of the Fat Lady, and she looked down upon us imperiously.

"We don't have a password!" Draco hissed, but Harry stepped forward confidently.

"Harry Potter, back once more!" she declared dramatically, a goblet in her hand.

"Caput Draconis!" Harry announced, and the portrait swung open.

"How?" my mouth fell open.

"Overheard some things," Harry smirked, "Go up to the girls dorms and change into a uniform, meet back here in 10, ok?"

"Um... sure." I frowned but did as he said, and Narcissa and I went upstairs.

"This brings back a lot of memories." I muttered, looking down at the uniform I once wore, a white polo shirt, red tie, grey sweater and grey skirt. It fit comfortably, and I felt a childish sense of excitement as I pulled on the black robes and did up my top button like I was at school once more.

"Red is so not my colour." Narcissa complained, and I glanced up at her only for my mouth to widen in shock. The woman had shortened her skirt so it barely reached mid thigh and foregone the grey sweater so that she could undo several buttons of the shirt to reveal her chest, which was decorated with a tie so loose it might as well not have been done up at all.

"Merlin, Cissa! Did you take a first years uniform?" I snorted, unable to resist looking her up and down. Narcissa smirked, please she had evoked a reaction from me. She knew she looked good.

"Come on, no time for chit chat!" Narcissa Black, evidently no longer the boring, proper, pureblooded woman, strode confidently out of the room, as she must have done many times as a young girl here. I had no choice but to follow her.

"Keep you heads down," Harry began, only raising his eyebrows at Narcissa's wardrobe. Draco looked like he wanted the ground to swallow him up, "We should get to the Great Hall without much trouble. Hopefully the plan will be in motion when we get there."

We were not stopped once as we headed away from Gryffindor Tower, and I wondered why we hadn't just done this in the first place. The doors were pushed open by a confident Harry before we had time to stop him, but instead of the hundreds of hostile heads turning to face us as we had expected, all we encountered was utter chaos. Thirty different Draco's stood frantically at the Hufflepuff table and sixty Harry Potter's dressed in Slytherin uniform grimaced at their reflections in their golden goblets.

It was terrifying, seeing so many exact copies of myself and my friends standing at the tables, yet also quite hilarious. We began to blend in with the Gryffindor crowd who had also begun to see the funny side of things as someone I had not seen for a long time stood at the podium, McGonagall obviously nowhere to be seen.

"Students!" Neville Longbottom shouted, amplifying his voice, only half of the excitable students paying him attention, "Back to your Common Rooms! Morning lessons are cancelled!"

"Whoooooop!" A colossal cheer went around the room as panicked teachers ushered students out of the Great Hall. We found ourselves with a stream of chattering Gryffindor's and I couldn't help but get caught up in the excitement as my Narcissa - at least, I thought it was her - gave me a small grin. We kept our arms linked together and soon enough I was being tugged, hopefully for the last time, into an alcove. Harry and Draco were across the corridor in a similar position, looking wary as a patrol followed the students to the tower to be sure they did not move off elsewhere like we had managed.

"Let's go." Draco muttered and we headed through an archway into the cold, open morning air.

We heard shouts behind us, and turned to see the Alsayadins advancing, wands outstretched.

"Fuck it." Harry muttered and we began to sprint down the hill as fast as we could without falling. As soon as we were beyond the wards and behind the cover of the Forbidden Forest, we apparated away.

 


	13. Chapter 13

It was wonderfully warm and bright as Narcissa and I headed down towards the Greek market open on the weekends. Harry and Draco had formed a surprising friendship, and had gone out for breakfast together, so Narcissa and I decided to buy some fruit and go home and make a fruit salad.  
Narcissa wore a black swimsuit with a sheer blue, patterned sarong tied around her waist. Sunglasses were perched on her head with jewelled sandals on her feet, and the sun had brightened her hair considerably. In the light where she stood, her skin glowing and her eyes sparkling, she looked like a Greek Goddess, watching me simply with a mango in her hand.  
"Mango, Hermione?"  
"Yes please." I smiled back and watched her barter with the elderly seller for a while, a devilish grin on her face as she managed to cut the price and buy two mangos for the price of one.  
The walk back up the hill was slow and leisurely, Narcissa's arm in mine and a brown paper bag filled with fruit in the other, my cream sundress blowing in the gentle breeze. The white buildings were bright and inviting and the brilliant blue domed roofs had now become familar to me as I looked all around.  
"Oi! Wait up!" came a familiar voice, and we turned to see Draco and Harry running up the hill. Harry wore three quarter length beige shorts and a blue Hawaiian shirt unbuttoned all the way, whilst Draco was topless, displaying toned, tanned abs that Harry seemed to oddly enough keep glancing at, with striped swimming trunks that were considerably shorter than Harry's. The four of us walked up the hill, each swallowed by our own thoughts but content and peaceful. That is, until we reached Narcissa's villa.  
There, standing under the golden Greek sun, was Ronald Weasley.  
He wore his Auror robes and his face was marred with scars, but the grimace on his face was undeniable in the as he looked around himself with a considerable look of disdain. Due to the Fidelius Charm, he believed he was looking at a run down, locked farmhouse, not a glorious hilltop villa, so we were safe for now.  
"Come," Narcissa whispered, "We need to get closer." Moving from the stone steps, she stood on the dried mud hill and climbed, hunched down, to the top, where we hid behind a row of large rose bushes.  
"It's here. We followed them right to this location," he sounded angry, "They must have an enchantment on it. No matter. As soon as they leave, we'll catch them." Through a gap in the undergrowth, I could see the smirk on his face.  
"Sir, with all due respect, there's nothing here." An auror piped up.  
"I don't care!" Ronald suddenly screeched, his face reddened in the hot climate, "We must find all of them!"  
"All of them, Sir? I thought we were here for Hermione Granger." another auror spoke up, but cowered under Ronald's glare.  
"I want patrols here 24/7. All night, all day. Any suspicious activity, any movement - apparate straight to me, is that clear?"  
"Yes, Sir." the six Aurors surrounding him nodded stiffly. As soon as Ron popped away, 12 more Aurors appeared and began to snake off in different directions.  
"This is no longer safe," Narcissa muttered, "We need to get into the house, pack everything away and lock it up. Then we leave."  
"To where?" I frowned.  
"Anywhere." she muttered. Moments later, the blonde, who wore only a swimsuit and sarong, took her bow from my pouch and fired a single arrow at the one Auror standing by the front door.  
"More will be back to guard the front. Let's go." she hissed. Sprinting forward, we reached the front doors of the villa, as a last ditch idea sprung and I grabbed the body of the Auror, dragging him forward.  
"Another man I've kidnapped," I snorted, looking down at the unconscious man as I bound him and Obliviated him for when he woke up, "I'm starting to feel like a serial killer."  
"Let's go." Narcissa took us through the wardrobe and down to the kitchens. As we went through the fireplace and into the broom cupboard, she discovered Sooky cowering in a cupboard.  
"Mistress! There are men outside! They wish to do you harm!" he trembled.  
"Sooky, it's alright," she coaxed, "Go to Hogwarts, you will be safe there."  
"Yes, Mistress." a tear escaped his eye and he popped away.  
"Hogwarts? How is that safe?" I frowned as Narcissa joined us and the fireplace slid into place.  
"It's safe for the elves. The castle will protect them, and so will their magic." she responded simply.  
We moved methodically around the Moon room, packing up anything that would be useful and removing any important information. Soon enough, it was empty, and we were dressed in our Kevlar suits, cloaks on and weapons strapped to us like a ragtag band of slightly shit, morally grey superheroes.  
When we left, we dragged the Auror with us and dumped him on the doorstep, leaning against one of the golden pillars supporting the doorway.  
As we appeared outside, shutting the doors for perhaps the last time, there was a howl. It was a piercing, wailing, fragile sound and it was coming from Pyxis.  
"No!" Narcissa screamed, drawing her bow. The arrow was aimed straight at Ronald Weasley's heart but she couldn't let go quick enough and he dodged it, dragging the knife against the dogs throat, the Golden Retriever dropping to the ground with a heart wrenching howl.  
My sword was drawn before I realised what I was doing and I charged towards the man who had caused me so much suffering over such a long period of time. An Avada Kedavra was sent lazily from his crooked wand, but I dodged it easily, pure anger burning through my veins.  
I was ready to kill him. I was ready to watch the life drain from his eyes as he screamed and begged for mercy. It was all I wanted in that moment. The urge to take his life shot through me like the blood that kept me alive.  
However, in that moment the barrage of pain I could feel from my bond with Narcissa as she watched her pet lay wounded on the floor overcame my need for revenge and I scooped Pyxis into my arms as Harry, Draco and Narcissa approached me. A hand was slipped around my waist and I sheathed my sword, twisting into oblivion.

\--

"Where have 'Mione and Narcissa gone?" I questioned, and Draco leant back, looking up at the sky, squinting. His muscles rippled and he ran a hand through his pastel pink hair.  
"They went down to the Market, I think. Said something about getting some fruit."  
"Pfft, fruit." I grinned and stabbed my pancake as the pink haired wizard rolled his eyes, taking a delicate sip of his smoothie. Draco, in comparison, had a bowl of yogurt and some oatmeal.  
"Ooh, that looks nice," Draco leant over and took a whole pancake off my stack, eyes glinting.  
"I can't believe you just did that!" I hissed, swatting his hand away.  
"Losers can't be choosers, Potter." he smirked.  
"I - does that even make sense?" I rolled my eyes.  
"Whatever." he took a spoonful of yogurt and relaxed, seeming to shine in the morning sun, embracing it like no one else had before, like he belonged here. Freckles had started to dot along his nose and streaks of platinum blonde had started to creep through the pink.  
"Excuse me!" a voice sounded, and we looked across the café to see three people walking towards us.  
"Hey guys!" I stood up and reached out, hugging each of the group of four as Draco did the same. They were Greek, local to the island, and according to them had met Mione and Narcissa by running them over. According to one of them, a blonde boy named Eros, it was 'fate', although Mione merely stated it was a painful yet happy coincidence. We had been introduced to them yesterday, and had gotten on with them immediately.  
"Wanna go for a walk?" Ambrose, the kindest of the group, a boy with a mop of long brown hair, grinned.  
"Sure!" Draco said enthusiastically. A little too enthusiastically. His girlfriend, Thea, a pretty girl with long brown hair, linked his arm and strolled out of the café with him, followed by Eros, the blonde and most handsome of the four, and Wellington, the lanky, awkward English boy. We headed down to the beach and they took out towels, laying down on the hot sand. Thea lay down beside me, out of sight of Draco, and propped herself up on her elbow.  
"So, how do you know the English Witches?" she questioned curiously.  
"Hermione was my best friend for many years. Still is. And Narcissa is a good friend, although I haven't known her for long."  
"Ah," she lay back down, "I didn't like them when I met them."  
"Oh?"  
"Mmm. Ambrose has been known to have a... wandering eye, as you might say, Harry," she sighed, "And they're beautiful women."  
"They are," I smiled gently, "Although I'm sure they would never have any ill intentions towards your boyfriend."  
"I know that now," the gentle sound of lapping waves reached my ears as I looked up at the blue sky and watched a brilliant white bird swoop in circular motions, "It was pretty obvious what was going on when I saw them interact."  
"What was going on?" I asked absentmindedly, lazily tracing patterns in the sand with my finger.  
"Well, they're in lo-" she was cut off, and from then I couldn't hear a word she said due to being distracted by the whooping laughs of Draco playing football in the sand with Ambrose. I watched with a fond smile on my face as Draco dove for the ball and missed it completely, landing in a heap. As I watched him, I noticed how when Draco laughed it sent ripples of joy throughout his whole body, and it lit up the air around us like the golden rays of the sun.  
"-In love. Utterly head over heels. Their love is the sort of love people spend their whole lives searching for."  
Thea stood up, dusting the sand off of her body. She hadn't realised I didn't hear a word she had said.

\--

"Where are we?" I questioned with a frown, looking around.  
"Um, I couldn't really think of anywhere else to take us, sorry 'Mione. I came here on a school trip when I was in primary school." Harry said apologetically. Looking around, I saw that we appeared to be standing before what was once a great cathedral, but had now fallen to ruins. It was built of white stone with large, arching windows, surrounded by a beautiful apple orchard.  
Narcissa fell to her knees, her dog in her arms. I hadn't known that dogs were able to cry, or perhaps I just hadn't put much thought into it, but a tear slipped from Pyxis' deep brown eyes as he lay on his side, blood matting his fur.  
Pyxis had been there for Narcissa when no one else had - and vice versa. Pyxis was the one being that never abandoned Narcissa, not for one moment. And now, even as she cast panicked healing spells over the dog, his breathing started to slow and his ears began to droop.  
We buried Pyxis deep in the orchard, with Narcissa transfiguring a small headstone from a pebble, engraved with 'Pyxis Black - a loyal and kind friend'.  
Narcissa wept silently as we walked out of the orchard, plucking a small apple from a tree as she walked ahead of us, alone, dragging her feet and hunching her back.  
"Let's camp at the edge of the forest tonight." Harry said, and so we did just that. The tent inside my pouch had only been intended for Ronald and I, so in terms of beds only contained two doubles, one for us and one for a guest.  
Harry suggested that him and I share a bed and Narcissa and Draco share one, but Draco immediately squealed at having to share a bed with his mother and Narcissa merely raised an eyebrow, unimpressed, so that plan was discarded extremely quickly, and it ended up being the boys in one bed and the girls in the other.  
"Oh!" I almost forgot!" it was around four in the afternoon and Harry had just come back from setting up wards around the tent when he dove inside and emerged with the most recent edition of the Daily Prophet. "I managed to get my hands on a copy. I haven't read any of it yet, as I wanted to wait for all of us to do it together."  
"Yes!" I said gleefully. I had felt extremely disconnected from the wizarding world recently, and apparently so did the others as we crowded around Harry and he unfolded the paper, revealing the very first page.

  
**_'GRANGER GOES GARROTING - ANDROMEDA BLACK FOUND MURDERED IN BASEMENT'_ **

  
The paper was dropped. My eyes fell to Narcissa and my vision began to blur.  
Moments later, everything went black.  
When I awoke, there was a blanket of stars above me and I found myself laying on the grass, looking up at the dark night sky.  
"Hermione! You're awake!" Narcissa took me in her arms, feeling warmer than ever. The fire beside us was crackling and I looked around to see that it was now dark as she knelt and stroked my hair. Immediately, the front page flooded into my brain.  
"I didn't kill her Cissa," I trembled, "She's my best friend."  
"I know, darling," Narcissa rocked me gently placing a gentle kiss on my forehead, "The thought never even crossed my mind."  
We sat in silence for a long time, wrapped around each other. Eventually, Narcissa put out the fire and led me into the tent, where only one lamp was burning. It was quiet and peaceful, and I was asleep as soon as my head touched the pillow.  
The morning sun awoke me through the gaps in the flaps of the tent, which danced gracefully in the slight breeze. Sitting up, I stretched and yawned, feeling peaceful until my eyes rested upon the Daily Prophet on the table through the curtains that hid our bed.  
Rushing over to it, I flipped immediately to the very next page. The article continued on from the front page and I skimmed through it quickly, my stomach doing somersaults.  
Andy had been found with a cord wrapped around her neck, her body charred and burnt as if she had been set alight - in the basement of the Burrow. Ronald had an alibi - he was working when she had disappeared and was not staying at the Burrow. But I had gone AWOL, and my DNA had been found at the scene.  
"Of course they found my fucking DNA! It was my house, for gods sake!" I hissed under my breath, a tear dropping onto the page.  
The article went on to describe her body in unnecessary detail, but it was too much for me to handle and I ignored that entirely. It was not until I reached the very last sentence of the three page spread that I felt my body seize up.  
'Hermione Jean Granger Weasley is now officially listed by the Minister for Magic himself as Undesirable No.1. A legislation has been approved by the Head Auror Mr Weasley to authorise a citizens arrest. Mr Weasley has also claimed that the Ministry is not liable for any damage caused to Mrs Hermione Weasley during such arrest, and Aurors are under an aim to kill order.'  
“Hello.” Turning in surprise, I saw Narcissa sitting up in bed, watching me. Her face was closed off, contemplative, perhaps even uninviting. I could feel the coldness she felt and it washed over her in waves. She drew her knees up to her chin as I discarded the newspaper and walked to her, climbing into bed.  
“Another family member gone. Perhaps the only sane one left.” Narcissa whispered, and the heartbreak in her voice was almost unbearable. On the inside, I wept sorrowfully for the woman, who only wanted peace and a loving family around her. On the outside, I stayed strong and stoic, pulling her into my arms as we drifted off to sleep again.  
It was lunchtime when we awoke once more, our faces stiff with dried tears. Leaving the tent, I saw Harry and Draco sat around a fire roasting a rabbit. They had picked some herbs and sprinkled them atop the rabbit as I was handed a small metal bowl and a knife and fork. They could have just been random leaves for all I knew, but I ate them anyway, and the meal was quite nice.  
When I took a bowl inside for Narcissa, I saw that she was huddled on the floor, surrounded by blankets in front of a mirror propped up against a wall. Much like the Greek legend of Narcissus, she stared at her reflection. However, instead of sitting in awe of her beauty, she was looking back at eyes full of pain and sorrow. There was no denying the self hate there, too.  
“Would you like something to eat?” I questioned. She shook her head no, and I decided not to push it.


	14. Chapter 14

 

A week had passed since we were last in Greece, and the pain of losing yet another close friend had settled upon me like a great obelix, easily crushing any possible thoughts of hope or joy. Narcissa was much the same, having lost the sister she had grown up with, the sister that had never given up on her. The sister that had sought her out despite everything and given her yet another chance.  
I was sat poking at the ashes of the fire we had cooked our breakfast on with my wand when there was a sound from the tent, causing me to jump in shock. “Whoop! Yesss!”  
“Everything alright?” Harry called out, having just gone to enter the tent with Draco behind him. The both of them were cast aside, however, as Narcissa burst from the tent clad in leggings and one of my old hoodies, a gleeful expression on her face. I had forgotten what it looked like to see her smile and it pained me. She was gaunt now, with dark bags under her red eyes, a tired expression never leaving her face - but the joy she seemed to be feeling overshadowed all of that and I jumped up in surprise.  
“Guess what I have only just gone and done!” she announced triumphantly.  
“What?” I laughed, the sound rather alien.  
“Watch this.” Narcissa slipped on a silver signet ring and pressed the pad of her thumb against it. Not even a second later, she wore a Kevlar suit with a cloak and handguns strapped to her thighs, daggers further down, a quiver of arrows on her back and a bow in her hand.  
“Woah!” Draco’s eyes widened, impressed, and a silver ring was thrown his way.  
“Press any part of your skin against it. It’s touch-activated, but only by yourselves.” she explained. Draco caught the ring, slipped it on, pressed it against his face because he was childish, and moments later his outfit was identical to the Blonde’s, but with two Katanas strapped to his back.  
A golden ring was tossed my way with a matching one sent to Harry, and a second later all four of us looked ready to battle. Pressing it once more, all four of us had our Muggle clothes on again and I wore one of Narcissa’s white vest tops with a pair of grey joggers.  
“That’s amazing, Cissa.”  
“Thank you,” she blushed, “Now we will be more efficient, hopefully. No more handing out of weapons from your pouch in the middle of a battle.”  
“What if we lose them? The rings? Do we lose the weapons?” Harry questioned.  
“Well, it’s charmed so that only you are able to take it off and put it on. So I suggest you just don't take it off.” Narcissa shrugged.

\--

The arrow spun viciously through the air, landing perfectly on it's target, a red and white circle painted sloppily on a large oak tree.  
"You're getting better," Narcissa complimented, taking her bow back, "But not quite as good as me." closing her eyes, the blonde witch fired off three arrows in succession, each one landing so perfectly on the target it splintered each arrow there before.  
"Show off." I muttered, unable to resist grinning. She looked lovely here, in black leggings and a black hoodie, panting under the sun despite the cold wind. Wiping sweat from my brow, I briefly wondered not for the first time how my younger self would have reacted to this. How would I have felt, standing opposite the woman amongst the death eaters she had housed, Harry 'dead' in Hagrid's arms, knowing that one day in the future I would be practising combat with the blonde witch, both of us dressed in muggle clothing. Even after getting to know her I would never have imagined Narcissa wearing a hoodie, although in all fairness she only ever stole mine.  
"Hermione?" I blinked, wiping sweat from my brow as Narcissa stabbed her sword into the dirt, "I was thinking we should take a break. See how Harry and Draco are getting on."  
"Sure." I responded with a smile. As we walked through the forest and entered the protective wards, the tent appeared and the sound of swords clashing reached our ears. Harry and Draco both wore Kevlar suits and were spinning, jumping and clashing like Olympic athletes as they delivered blow upon blow on each others swords, the clash of metal constant, never becoming metal upon Kevlar as they each kept up the pace, a perfect match for the other.  
"I don't know about you," I called out, "But I'm going to make some lunch!"  
"Lunch?" Harry spun around, mouth watering. Immediately, Draco knocked the sword out of the Brunette's hand and pointed his at the young man's throat.  
"Always thinking about your stomach, Potter." Draco grinned victoriously, his blue eyes sparkling with happiness.  
"Eh, it's worth it. I'm starving." Harry pushed the sword away with a finger and laughed, shaking the hand of the pink-haired wizard.  
"Good match."  
"Good match." Harry grinned.  
We walked back to the tent, and Harry offered to cook the rabbit I had caught earlier.  
"I have something to show you." I murmured, walking towards Narcissa where she stood inside the tent, folding a blanket.  
"Oh?"  
"Yes. It's about when we were at Hogwarts... I - I found a book. I've been too scared to open it until now."  
"Hermione," smiling gently, Narcissa tucked a lock of hair behind my ear, "I understand why you were scared, and why you've come to me now, but we're in this together. Harry and Draco don't actually need to be here with us right now, but they are. So if you have some sort of clue about the Emunctoria's, you should share it with all of us, not just me."  
"You're right," I sighed, "Come on."  
We left the tent and walked over to the fire, sitting down with Draco and Harry.  
"When I was in the library," Harry and Draco looked up at me, pausing what they were doing, which was the same as usual - just staring at each other all starry eyed, "I came across this. It was put there for me to find, I know that for sure. I... haven't opened it yet."  
"Why not?" Draco frowned.  
"I don't know, really. I was scared. Didn't know what was going to be inside."  
"Shall we open it now?" Harry suggested, and I nodded. In the daylight I could now admire the leather bound book, which was entwined with undulating lines of iridescent gold and silver, reflecting in the dim sunlight.  
"I - I can't open it." I suddenly realised. As much as I tugged and pulled, the book would not open, almost as if the pages had been glued together. We each took turns trying to open it, and Harry even attempted to stroke the spine, but it would not budge.  
"Ow!" Narcissa suddenly cursed, grimacing as blood dripped from her hand onto the corner of the book, "Paper cut." she explained, frowning. Then, a light began to glow from the book, and we watched as her blood seemed to multiply and seep through the lines of silver and gold in some sort of hidden pattern.  
"It's open!" Harry whispered, and sure enough, it was. The first page was a picture, and the title read 'NORTH OF THE MOON AND SOUTH OF THE SUN'. At the bottom of the page in cursive was the name 'Geoffrey Monmouth'. There was a mystical illustration of the Sun and Moon rotating on a star circle with odd, smaller circles decorating it. The page was yellow and worn, and it seemed to have been rotting in Hogwarts library for a long, long time.  
Narcissa, Harry and Draco had huddled around to look at the book, but we were set up for disappointment as I turned the page. It was blank, so I turned another. And another. Every single page following the first was utterly blank.  
"Well that was useless." Harry plopped down on the ground with a defeated sigh as Draco returned to tending the fire.  
"Why is it all blank aside for one page? How can a book, a story book, be blank?" I groaned in frustration, suddenly feeling the weight of the A4 sized book taken off my hands as Narcissa lifted it into her lap, examining it once more.  
"What if," she frowned, looking contemplative, "It's blank for a reason. Why would a story be blank but for the first page?"  
"Well, I don't know." I said hopelessly.  
Narcissa turned to me, eyes deep and thoughtful, "Perhaps it's blank because the story has not yet been written."

\--

"Why can't you just get your own damn hoodies, woman?" storming over to the woman as she stood at the entrance of the tent, I folded my arms crossly.  
"Shush, she smiled easily, "Harry is still asleep."  
"I was looking all over for that!" I whispered angrily, poking the light grey Cambridge hoodie Narcissa wore over a pair of leggings.  
"Well now you've found it." she smirked.  
"I don't understand why we can't just go back to the muggle shop we bought all our other clothes from when we first started this and get you a hoodie for yourself?" I huffed.  
"But yours are comfy," Narcissa pouted, "And they smell like you."  
"Well, b- it's, well - yes." I flushed bright red - Narcissa knew she had won.  
A few days later, I was stirring a cup of tea for Narcissa when I spotted her standing outside, staring into the distance.  
Narcissa Black would never admit it, but she had the most incredible sweet tooth of anyone I had ever encountered. It was an absolute wonder how her skin stayed so smooth and clear and her body so wondrously toned when she ate like a five year old that had no adult supervision. Once a week, we would find a new muggle supermarket in a relatively small village somewhere as we moved about the English countryside and do a weekly shop, often going in two's. And every single goddamn time, I would turn my back for one measly second and when I looked once more the shopping trolley would all of a sudden be filled with cakes, chocolates and different boiled sweets.  
Heaping six whole teaspoons of sugar into the woman's mug, I shook my head. Her drink wasn't even tea now, it was just pure diabetes.  
"Penny for your thoughts?" I questioned, going to sit beside her on one of the cheap deckchairs we had bought. With a flick of my wrist, there was a fire going in front of us, providing warmth and refuge from the cold, morning air.  
"I'm thinking of my sister. As I do every day. Every second, every minute, every hour." Leaning back in her deckchair, Narcissa looked up to the cloudy, rather dismal, grey sky.  
"As do I. You're not alone. I miss her deeply." It was the truth. There was rarely a moment that went by when I wouldn't see something that reminded me of her, or something I thought she might like or laugh at, and think that I must send that in my next letter to her.  
There would be no more letters now.  
"I can't help but feel a deep sense of regret towards her death. Perhaps selfishly so. There were many things I needed to remove from my chest, many things we had left to talk about. I dont understand how anyone could do such a thing - such an inherently evil act."  
"It drove me crazy," I admitted, "Not that I'm trying to compare these at all, because I just... wouldn't, but at least with Rory I knew who did it. I know exactly who I intend to get my revenge on. With Andy... I feel as if I am clawing at air."

\--

We faced a bright, colourful building complete with swirling graffiti and several overhanging balconies in the midst of a long, winding, busy row of shops. The sky was bright and clear, a dazzling blue, and the streets were alive with all kinds of people chattering happily as they strolled about.  
"Let's head to the promenade." Narcissa said. We turned and began to walk down a closed off street with café tables in the middle of the road and the smell of different foods reaching our noses, Narcissa the only one of us four that had been in the city of Brighton before. The brilliant, baby blue sky was a far cry from the miserable grey rain clouds that had shrouded us most days as we moved around England camping, and I noticed a shift in our moods as we escaped the routine we had fallen into; wake up, spend a day training in either hand to hand combat or sword fighting, have lunch in between and dinner at night, go to sleep, wake up and move camps. We never stayed anywhere for long.  
Now we were in Brighton, planning to find some sort of café or library with computers we could use to do some research. However, Narcissa wanted to make a day of it, so we were now heading towards the seafront having checked into a hotel - a five star one, at Narcissa's request.  
"What's going on?" Draco asked all of a sudden. As we were nearing the seafront, crowds began to appear out of nowhere, shouting and cheering wildly. We stopped, and I was the first to notice what was actually going on.  
"Oh my god." I began to laugh so hard I doubled over, tears streaming out of my eyes as Draco and Narcissa sported matching confused frowns.  
"What? Hermione?" Harry prodded me and I straightened up, wiping a tear from my eye.  
"How did we not notice?"  
"Notice what, Mione?" Narcissa blinked.  
"The bloody flags everywhere!" Pointing right above our heads, an LGBT pride flag was hung outside of a small shop and it flapped freely above my heads.  
"Oh my gosh." Draco placed his head in his hands as realisation dawned on the two young men and a gleeful grin spread across Harry's face.  
"I still don't understand what's going on." Narcissa blinked.  
"All those years pretending to be a muggle were quite sheltered, then, eh?" I smirked.  
"I demand to know what's going on!"  
Draping an arm around Narcissa's shoulders, I steered her around a corner to reveal the dregs of a seemingly colossal parade, "It's a pride parade. For the gays!"  
"Oh. Right." Narcissa looked quite shocked, as we realised the parade was heading towards us and not away, and we were swallowed up into the crowd. We were quite bland compared to the people around us, with one woman dressed completely in shiny black leather. Narcissa wore one of MY baggy t-shirts as a dress with trainers, looking surprisingly cool, her hair up in a small bun and shades on her face. Draco and Harry were both topless, Harry in long denim shorts and Draco in jogger shorts, and I wore short denim shorts and a bikini top, my glasses perched on my head keeping my hair from my face.  
"Come on!" I said, dragging them from the crowd onto a quiet space on the pavement, "We need to look the part." Finding a stall on the street was easy, but getting to it was difficult - the four of us formed a human chain and pushed against the tide of the crowd to reach a stand selling all manner of rainbow decorated items. Harry, in all his infinite wisdom, bought a cup of glitter paint and smeared it all over his rather pale yet chiselled upper body as Draco merely watched, fascinated. Deciding he needed to upstage the wizard, Draco grabbed something from the stand and disappeared into the nearby public toilets in a blur.  
Moments later, he returned. he had slipped his black vest top back on, but on his lower body now wore a pair of rainbow coloured speedos.  
"Merlin, Draco!" I exclaimed as Harry's eyes positively bulged out of his head - although his eyes were not the only thing that was bulging. Narcissa merely rolled her eyes, looking slightly disgusted, and turned back to the stall. Harry and Draco announced they wanted to split up, so with the reassurance of the earrings we wore to communicate that I had made for the boys too they disappeared in the crowd and we turned back to the stall.  
"Please, Cissa!" I pouted.  
"No." she responded for the sixth time in a row.  
"Pretty please!" Batting my eyelashes at the blonde, she turned away, shaking her head vehemently.  
"No, Hermione, you're not painting my face. That would involve me losing the last shred of dignity I have left, and I'm not going to let that happen."  
Moments later, I had her face cupped in my hands and I was swiping glitter across her cheekbones with a shit-eating grin plastered on my face.  
"My turn." she huffed, grabbing the pot of glitter like a stroppy child. The look on the blonde's face as she stuck her tongue out ever so slightly to concentrate was easily the most adorable thing I had ever seen, and the sudden flash of bright light was perfect timing as a tall, beautiful drag queen walked over.  
"There you go, honey." she said, exchanging my polaroid camera and the developing picture for a five pound note.  
"You paid her to take a picture of us?" Narcissa raised an eyebrow at me, trying and failing to look annoyed.  
Tucking the camera I had bought from a vintage shop only this morning into my bracelet pouch, I grabbed Narcissa's hand.  
"Oh!" she looked surprised, but did not pull her hand away and in fact held mine even tighter as if I would try and leave at any moment.  
"Come on, old woman, let's get drunkkkk!" I shouted, as the people around me cheered loudly.  
"Always have to ruin the moment, Granger!" Narcissa called out over the noise of the crowd.  
"Always do!" I grinned. We soon made friends with a large group of flamboyant men carrying crates of beer, and not long later we were tipsy and cheering along under the sun, now in the heart of the parade. Music blasted and I twirled Narcissa as we walked, giggling childishly.  
Draco and Harry met up with us in a pub and we sat on one of the tables outside, pints in our hands, looking up at the sun.  
"Oi, you know what I'm feeling?" Harry suddenly announced.  
"What?" Draco laughed.  
"Jägerbombs!" he shouted gleefully, springing up from the garden bench to run back to the bar.  
"Research can wait until tomorrow." I grinned drunkenly.  
"I'll toast to that!" Narcissa leant forward and we all clumsily clinked our glasses together, eyes shining.  
The very next day, we were up at 7 and out of the hotel at 8, most of the time in between spent eating breakfast and watching Narcissa fuss about what to wear. We were sharing a hotel room, with Draco and Harry sharing their own. There were two bedrooms, each with a double bed inside, but Narcissa absolutely refused to sleep alone, so to my secret happiness we ended up sharing. There was also a living room and large, marble bathroom which was now littered with the many different muggle makeup products Narcissa had taken with her.  
Our hotel was on the seafront, in the direction of Hove, and we walked along the promenade for around ten minutes before cutting off left towards the shops that lined the streets. Brighton was experiencing a heatwave, and although not as hot as Greece had been, I was sweating and had spent a long time fussing over Narcissa trying to get her to wear sun cream - she claimed the white cream made her look even paler than she already was, but I wouldn't leave the hotel until it was on.  
We both wore short denim shorts, me with a black vest top and Narcissa with a khaki button up and a small sling handbag. Harry wore a Weird Sisters shirt and the same three quarter length corduroy shorts he always wore, whereas Draco wore a pair of slightly shorter black shorts and an old hoodie that looked suspiciously like Harry's Quidditch one.  
We came across Brighton library, a large, glass building situated beside a Pizza Express, a Yo! Sushi and an expanse of fake grass on which deck chairs were laid out with people sunbathing in them. Entering the library, we breathed a sigh of relief as we were hit with a blast of cool air, soon finding ourselves logging onto the free computers.  
As soon as I searched in the word 'Emunctoria', thousands of results came up, the very first headline screaming 'Another West Dublin attack - city lies in terror as bodies line the streets' with the next few articles being equally harrowing. I had been so sheltered in the relative peacefulness of the Wizarding world I hadn't realised the Muggle world was almost crumbling before my very eyes.  
We set the dates for the results to go back before the year 2000, and continued until we reached 2002 and saw that articles now linked to the Emunctoria's started surfacing that year. Draco jotted that down in the notebook we had bought.  
Then we began to note down the countries it started in. The very first attack openly 'credited' to the organisation was in Ethiopia. Then Bolivia, Hawaii, India, South Africa, China, Russia, France and finally, the attack that actually began to garner media attention, the massacre of 16 tourists and Britons in a bus crash in London. Survivors of the crash claimed something 'came over' the driver and he suddenly zoned out, driving the double decker bus straight into oncoming traffic - an almost textbook example of the Imperious Curse and why it should stay illegal forever.  
The attacks were completely random, with no pattern of victims, style of killing or countries killed in. It was clearly the work of a 'terrorist' organisation, but with the aim of what, the muggle government didn't know.

  
We knew. It had been cemented by McGonagall's claim of 'Self-Preservation'. They wanted a full scale Muggle Massacre.

  
They wanted genocide.


	15. Chapter 15

"Are you sure this is a good idea, Narcissa?" Harry asked, frowning at the woman.  
"Trust me, she'll love it." the blonde grinned.  
"Why that, though? I mean, why that for her? I didn't even realise you were that close, you barely know each other." Draco looked utterly baffled.  
"Draco, we've all been through a lot together. I think all of us have passed 'barely knowing' a while ago. And as for Hermione, I've been through a great deal more with her. Don't presume to know what you don't."  
"Sorry." Draco, looking perfectly chastised, returned to his seat beside the dentists-style leather chair Narcissa lay in.  
"Ready to go again?" said the burly man, and Narcissa grinned, nodding.  
Harry leaned back, glancing around. He was sat in a large, black-walled shop, the ceiling above brightly coloured and painted with roaring dragons, fierce lions and prancing stags. When they had approached the shop, it was quite a spectacle. The graffiti on the building moved of it's own accord like a magical photograph and the shop seemed to glow a bright gold. However, the muggles didn't stare in awe or stop by to have a look in. They simple ignored it - because it was charmed to appear to them like a closed down barbershop.  
The reason for that was because it was a magical tattoo shop. And after watching Hermione get a small tattoo of a moving white cat on her wrist to add to one of her tattoo sleeves, although Hermione would not specify why she chose a cat, Narcissa had suddenly decided to start building a sleeve of her own.  
Yes. Narcissa Black, the pureblooded ex-wife of a deatheater who once housed Voldemort, wanted a tattoo sleeve. And to start, she was getting a Lion covering the top of her left shoulder.

\--

We had been in Bolivia for no more than an hour when the heat began to feel almost unbearable. It was worse than Greece without the fresh sea breeze, and I was stuck in a metal death-trap heading down a rocky path at the base of a tremendous mountain. Every tiny bump or pothole we went over was amplified as I hit my head on the roof of the green camper van for the hundredth time. Narcissa sat amicably in the front, whereas I sat squashed between Draco and Harry in the back, a cage full of chickens on my lap at the insistence of our driver.  
Jose had met us at the airport dressed in sandals, three quarter length shorts and a matching button up shirt with all the buttons undone, exposing his hairy chest. He appeared to be in his late 40's, with the wrinkled, scrunched up expression of someone who had spent too much time in the sun. Jose was full of laughter and optimism, a rather odd man, but did not ask questions and did not comment on our lack of luggage. He simply packed us inside the van and we were on our way.  
"This is as far as I go, my English friends."  
"What?" I blinked as the car came to a halt, the engine still running. We were at the edge of a dense rainforest and I shook my head, "How do we know where to go from here?"  
"Just keep walking. You will find them," he shrugged, "They will find you first anyway. If you get lost you will be guided."  
"Sounds reassuring." Harry muttered darkly.  
"Why don't you go any further?" Narcissa questioned.  
"It's safer. They were peaceful peoples, but something happened..." Jose trailed off gravely, then gave a toothy grin, "Now go. I have a business to run! It is not as easy here as the England, huh!?"  
"Right. Thanks." shoving some coins into his hands, Narcissa got out easily, but it took a little longer for me as I tried to manoeuvre the cage of squawking chickens.  
"Remind me why I agreed to this again?" Draco crossed his arms grumpily, squinting in the blinding sun as the bright green van sped away, leaving us in its wake.  
"Because you're pale and need to get out more." I responded snarkily.  
"Now, now, children. Let's go." Harry led the way, picking up a stick to bash away intruding branches, thick pieces of leafy wood that reached out of the rainforest, almost as if to grab us - although I supposed we were the intruders here. We each wore sand coloured shorts similar to Jose with dark green button ups, our signet rings on and our wands holstered to our thighs underneath the shorts in case we encountered any trouble.  
"Stop." Narcissa said all of a sudden. A twig snapped beneath my foot and all three faces whipped towards me.  
"Sorry." I whispered awkwardly.  
"Someone's watching us." the blonde frowned, but as I looked around I could see nothing.  
Then - they came out of nowhere. Swinging down from trees on great, thick vines like graceful acrobats twisting and flinging themselves through the air, wielding great machetes that glinted with droplets of water collected from the rain that dripped from the leaves above despite the glaring sun that now prevailed.  
Soon enough we were surrounded by at least 20 topless, dirty men with snarling faces and leather pelts barely covering their modesty, heads shaved and eyes glowing red with anger. Harry reached for his wand and Draco and I both made movements to touch our rings, but Narcissa stopped us.  
"Wait - this is the tribe. We must show we're friends, not foes." she hissed, so we held our hands up in surrender. However, the men encroaching upon us took this as a hostile manoeuvre and began to shout and hiss, beating upon their chests like gorillas.  
They drew closer and closer and we went back to back, huddling together, realising that perhaps they may not care - friend or foe. They appeared to be... hungry. Not just for our blood, but for our actual flesh.  
Draco let out a yelp as one man had gotten close and crept up behind him, slicing at the back of his leg.  
"We're not here to hurt you!" Harry tried, but it was almost like they couldn't speak - we had already used a translation spell and they had not been at all responsive.  
Then a noise sounded, a booming horn that echoed around us so loudly we covered our ears in pain, dropping to our knees. The tribe began to retreat, crawling back into the forest. Almost a few seconds later, it was like they had never been there in the first place.  
Upon a small ridge, in between two large trees, a man appeared. He dressed simply in a light shirt and baggy trousers, his feet bare, his hair dark and shiny. A horn was in one hand, and the other rested on the hilt of a large dagger tied to his side.  
"What brings you to the forest of Jach'a Khoka?" The man boomed. He spoke in a language not dissimilar to Spanish, and his voice was much louder and more commanding than I had expected.  
 "We come in peace," Narcissa stepped forward, "We have some... questions."  
"We welcome no strangers anymore. It is not safe here - you must leave."  
Harry stepped forward this time and, evidently realising he was in the presence of someone important, bowed his head, "Sir, please. Lives are at stake here. We are not with the media or anything like that. We are conducting a personal investigation on the tribe from the year 2002."  
The man stilled. his hands, which had been outstretched, now fell limply to his side as, despite his distance from us, I seemed to watch the light disappear from his eyes.  
"Come. It is late. Stay with us, and we will discuss in the morning."  
"Thank you." Narcissa said earnestly. We reached the ridge and climbed up beside him, beginning to head deeper into the heart of the rainforest.  
"Who were those men back there?" Draco suddenly asked. Harry shot him a glare, but the man did not seem offended.  
"I will tell you in detail tomorrow, young boy. But they are not friends of yours and they are not friends of mine. They are savages, once my family. Called the Uywa. That is all."

\--

It had been nightfall when we had reached his village, but the place was still alive with people.  
"You will stay in my cousin's hut. He is away in another village for now." he had said to Narcissa and I, "You must not be seen, for I have not alerted my own village yet. Understood?" said the man, and we nodded our agreement. Leading us to a small, wooden hut he revealed two single beds made of wood with beige sheets, and the temperature had cooled enough for us to need them now. "You will come with me and stay in my home," he nodded to Harry and Draco, and a part of me realised that this man, whoever he was, was someone important. "I am Waka Chacha." he bowed his head and shook each of our hands, as I noticed Harry raise his eyebrow slightly at the name. It sounded rather funny in English, but I imagine it was a name that was very respected around here.  
"Hermione."  
"Narcissa."  
"Draco."  
"Harry."  
After introducing ourselves he bid us goodnight and disappeared with Harry and Draco.

\--

"Mione," came a hiss, "What are you doing?"  
"What are you doing?" I whispered in response, glancing to look at the blonde.  
"Well," she sighed, "You're quite possibly one of the most stubborn people I have ever met, and I know I would be unable to convince you to return to your bed, so I would much rather be at your side when something inevitably goes wrong than be worrying from my own bed."  
"Fair enough, Ms Black." I grinned and she rolled her eyes. Turning back to the scene I had been watching, I adjusted my position of crouching in the undergrowth, shielded by a large bush. Ahead of me was a large group of at least thirty men and women, standing in a semi circle around a large wooden chair in the darkness. Tiki torches surrounded the clearing, giving light, and various men seemed to be standing watch with spears in their hands.  
Waka Chacha sat upon the chair, looking far more intimidating now. His long, black hair was parted in the middle and plaited into two long strands either side of his head, his face painted with two stripes of red across his left eye. Waka Chacha was topless, with a thick blanket wrapped like a toga over his shoulder and across his chest, long earrings hanging down beside rows of beaded necklaces. He had just finished some sort of speech, and there was an uproar in the crowd.  
"We cannot let outsiders in!" called out a young woman, infuriated.  
"They cannot be trusted!"  
"We are safer in solitude!"  
"Their kind took my children!" shrieked an elderly woman, wailing openly.  
"Silence!" Waka Chacha hissed, and immediately the crowd was hushed, "Tonight, I intend to travel alone to the Temple of Adfere across the southern river to speak to the Gods. I will seek their guidance on this."  
"Papa! NO!" shouted a young girl, not out of her teens, running forward, "You cannot go through the Forest of Jach'a Khoka! The Uywa will kill you!" she cried.  
Standing up, he placed a large hand on the young girls shoulder and addressed the crowd, "My decision is final. Until I return, no harm is to come to the Janq'u's. They stay with my cousin. Understood?" harsh eyes regarded the crowd, and I realised I must be a 'Janq'u' - whatever that meant.  
"Let's go." Narcissa whispered, and we headed to the outskirts of the village. It was a longer route than just walking through the middle, but doing so would have resulted in us being seen, so this was necessary.  
When we reached his cousins home, however, I held up my hand. Narcissa stopped silently, and I twisted my signet ring, seeing the door slightly ajar. Narcissa had modified the ring so certain movements wouuld give me certain things, and after one counter-clockwise twist and the press of my thumb I held my sword in both hands.  
The door creaked as I pushed it open, revealing two men. One held a spear and had just driven it straight through Narcissa's bed, cutting through the sandbag mattress and completely splintering the plank of wood. The other man, who was much shorter and tubbier than his tall, lanky counterpart, was hacking at my pillow will a small dagger. they hadn't even realised I had entered, and with a flick of my wand they were disarmed and stunned, falling unconscious to the floor.  
"What now?" I chewed my lip, "We can't just drag two of their tribe members' unconscious bodies through the village. They would surely kill us."  
"I'm not sure." Narcissa looked worried, but to my gratitude, someone appeared in the doorway.  
"Wait! It's not what it looks like, they broke in - it was self defence."   
"Do not worry, young Hermione." Waka Chacha took in the scene gravely, almost looking surprised that both men were still alive, "I understand. I had expected something like this would happen, but was too late in placing guards at your doors. And please, just Waka," he looked around, sighing, "It is not safe for you here. You must come with me."  
"Where?" Narcissa asked innocently, and to our surprise, Waka let out a billowing laugh, the sound rippling through his body as his grin revealed a set of crooked teeth.  
"I am the chief of this tribe. I command many. I see what others do not," He smiled gently, "I know that you were watching. But something is telling me to trust you, and I believe in my instincts. Yes, we are going through the Forest of Jach'a Khoka. Please, hide your weapons - I was not expecting you Janq'u's to own such pieces. You may need them, however, so bring them."  
"What does Janq'u even mean?" I asked.  
Once more, Waka laughed, "In the language of the people, it means 'Bright' or 'Colourless', although most commonly, means 'White'.

**Author's Note:**

> Please leave a comment if you can! Don't feel that you have to, but it helps me adjust my work to make more sense or be more realistic etc.:)


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